Geoglossaceae is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

in the order Geoglossales,

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

Geoglossomycetes. These fungi are broadly known as earth tongues. The ascocarps of most species in the family Geoglossaceae are terrestrial and are generally small, dark in color, and club-shaped with a height of 2–8 cm. The

ascospores An ascus (; ) is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in ascomycete fungi. Each ascus usually contains eight ascospores (or octad), produced by meiosis followed, in most species, by a mitotic cell division. However, asci in some genera or ...

are typically light-brown to dark-brown and are often multiseptate. Other species of fungi have been known to parasitize ascocarps. The use of a compound microscope is needed for accurate identification."Family: Geoglossaceae." The Hidden Forest. 26 Aug. 2009 .

Systematics

The fungi that are now included in the fungal class Geoglossomycetes were previously considered by mycologists to be a family (Geoglossaceae) within the class

Leotiomycetes The Leotiomycetes are a class of ascomycete fungi. Many of them cause serious plant diseases. Systematics The class Leotiomycetes contains numerous species with an anamorph placed within the ''fungi imperfecti'' (deuteromycota), that have only ...

. The family Geoglossaceae ''

sensu lato ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

'' was previously defined with 6

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

and 48 species. Early molecular evidence using

ribosomal DNA Ribosomal DNA (rDNA) is a DNA sequence that codes for ribosomal RNA. These sequences regulate transcription initiation and amplification, and contain both transcribed and non-transcribed spacer segments. In the human genome there are 5 chromos ...

suggested that Geoglossaceae ''sensu lato'' was not a monophyletic group, and that the hyaline spored genera (e.g. ''

Leotia ''Leotia'' is a genus of cup fungi of the division Ascomycota. ''Leotia'' species are globally distributed, and are believed to be ectomycorrhizal. They are commonly known as ''jelly babies'' because of the gelatinous texture of their fruiting ...

'', ''

Microglossum ''Microglossum'' is a genus of fungi in the family Leotiaceae. Ascocarps (fruit bodies) occur in soil and resemble earth tongues, but are microscopically distinct. '' Microglossum atropurpureum'', a species typical of waxcap grassland in Europ ...

'', and '' Spathularia'') were not allied within the same clade as the darker-spored genera (''

Geoglossum ''Geoglossum'' is a genus of fungi in the family Geoglossaceae. They are commonly called earth tongues. The type species is ''Geoglossum glabrum''. ''Geoglossum'' species are distinguished from the related genus ''Trichoglossum'' by the lack of ...

'' and ''

Trichoglossum ''Trichoglossum'' is a genus of fungi in the family Geoglossaceae. They are commonly called hairy earth tongues. The type species is ''Trichoglossum hirsutum''. Members of the genus ''Trichoglossum'' have tiny hairs known as setae on the spor ...

''). Schoch et al., using a six-gene phylogeny including ribosomal DNA and protein-coding genes, found support for the establishment of a new class (Geoglossomycetes), containing the genera ''Geoglossum'', ''

Sarcoleotia ''Sarcoleotia'' is a genus of fungi in the earth tongue family Geoglossaceae. There is no known common name. History The genus was first described by Japanese mycologists Seiya Ito and Sanshi Imai in 1934, who separated ''Sarcoleotia'' from ' ...

'', and ''Trichoglossum''. Further molecular research resulted in the addition of ''

Nothomitra ''Nothomitra'' is a genus of fungi in the earth tongue family Geoglossaceae. There is no known common name. ''Nothomitra'' is morphologically distinguished from ''Microglossum'' in that the fertile hymenium in ''Nothomitra'' is not flattened as ...

'' (previously treated as a relative or synonym of ''Microglossum'') to the group in 2011. ''

Glutinoglossum ''Glutinoglossum'' is a genus of six species of earth-tongue fungi in the family Geoglossaceae. The widespread type species, '' G. glutinosum'', is commonly known as the "glutinous earth tongue". '' G. heptaseptatum'' is known only fro ...

'' was circumscribed in 2013 to contain the species formerly known as '' Geoglossum glutinosum'', and a new European species, '' G. heptaseptatum''. Several species in the genus ''

Neolecta ''Neolecta'' is a genus of ascomycetous fungi that have fruiting bodies in the shape of unbranched to lobed bright yellowish, orangish to pale yellow-green colored, club-shaped, smooth, fleshy columns up to about 7 cm tall. The species share ...

'' have similar morphology and are also known by the common name of "earth tongues", but they are members of the quite distantly related

Taphrinomycotina The Taphrinomycotina are one of three subdivisions constituting the Ascomycota (fungi that form their spores in a sac-like ascus) and is more or less synonymous with the slightly older invalid name Archiascomycetes (sometimes spelled Archaeascom ...

, an entirely different subdivision of the

Ascomycota Ascomycota is a phylum of the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, forms the subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The def ...

Habitat

Earth tongues are commonly found in soil or among rotting vegetation. In North America, they are commonly found in coniferous woodland, broad-leaved woodland and mixed woodland habitats, whereas in Europe they are commonly found in grassland habitats and are major components of the endangered

waxcap grassland Waxcap grassland is short-sward, nutrient-poor grassland that supports a rich assemblage of larger fungi, particularly waxcaps (species of '' Hygrocybe'' and related genera), characteristic of such habitats. Waxcap grasslands occur principally in ...

habitat.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1349611 Taxa named by August Carl Joseph Corda Taxa described in 1838 Ascomycota families