''Hypochnella'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of corticioid (crust-like) fungi. It is one of several genera that were doubtfully placed in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Atheliaceae Atheliaceae is a family of corticioid fungi placed under the monotypic order Atheliales. Both the order and the family were described by Walter Jülich in 1981. According to a 2008 estimate, the family contains 20 genera and approximately 100 spe ...

based on microscopic morphological simultaneous with core

genera. However, a molecular study with emphasis on Atheliales, including samples across most agaricomycete orders, retrivied the species ''Hypochnella violacea'' within the order

Polyporales The Polyporales are an order of about 1800 species of fungi in the division Basidiomycota. The order includes some (but not all) polypores as well as many corticioid fungi and a few agarics (mainly in the genus ''Lentinus''). Many species within ...

. Although a close relationship between ''Hypochnella violacea'' and genus ''

Australohydnum ''Australohydnum'' is a genus of resupinate fungi in the family Phanerochaetaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 1978 by Swiss mycologist Walter Jülich with the Australian fungus '' Australohydnum griseofuscescens'' (formerly ''Hydnum griseo-fu ...

'' was suggested, resolving the phylogenetic position of ''Hypochnella'' within Polyporales was outside the scope of the study. The genus contains two described species.

Description

Members of ''Hypochnella'' form thin, membrane-like annual

basidiocarp In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome, or basidioma () is the sporocarp of a basidiomycete, the multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are characteristic of the hymenomycetes; rusts and smuts do not ...

s on various decaying biological substrates, notably heavily decayed wood. They can range in colour from greyish to various shades of purple or violet depending on i.a. humidity, and are

resupinate Resupination is derived from the Latin word ''resupinus'', meaning "bent back with the face upward" or "on the back". "Resupination" is the noun form of the adjective "resupine" which means "being upside-down, supine or facing upward". The word " ...

to effuse in shape. The hymenal surface is hypochnoid and without sterile elements. The basidiosprores are pale brown and

ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that may be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a surface that may be defined as the ...

to amygdaliform (almond-shaped), or subsylindrical in ''Hypochnella verrucospora''. They are distinctively thick-walled and amyloid compared to other corticoid fungi. Other types of spores are not known, and no anamorphs have been observed. The

hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one or ...

l system is

monomitic A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one or ...

, consisting of simple

septate In biology, a septum (Latin for ''something that encloses''; plural septa) is a wall, dividing a cavity or structure into smaller ones. A cavity or structure divided in this way may be referred to as septate. Examples Human anatomy * Interatri ...

, smooth to partly encrusted generative hyphae without clamps, which branch at right to acute angles. Thickness of the hyphal walls, length of the cells and colour varies between different parts of the

mycelium Mycelium (plural mycelia) is a root-like structure of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. Fungal colonies composed of mycelium are found in and on soil and many other substrate (biology), substrates. A typical single ...

Distribution

Both ''Hypochnella'' species are uncommon, and known from only a small number of sites. Their habitats and distribution differ substantially. ''H. violacea'' has been known for a significantly longer time than ''H. verrucospora'' and is found in several countries of

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

as well as

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, while ''H. verrucospora'' is found only in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. Consequently, the former is assumed to have a temperate range while the latter is presumably restricted to the neotropics.

References

External links

* Atheliales Atheliales genera Taxa named by Joseph Schröter Taxa described in 1888 {{Agaricomycetes-stub