''Hypocreopsis amplectens'' is part of the family

Hypocreaceae The Hypocreaceae are a family (biology), family within the class Sordariomycetes. Species of Hypocreaceae are usually recognized by their brightly colored, perithecial Ascocarp, ascomata, typically yellow, orange or red. The family was proposed b ...

and genus ''

Hypocreopsis ''Hypocreopsis'' is a genus of ascomycete fungi that form stromata on the stems of trees and shrubs. The stromata are orange-brown and consist of radiating, perithecial lobes. Species The genus includes three species: *''Hypocreopsis amplectens' ...

'', fungi that form

stromata The ''Stromata'' ( el, Στρώματα), a mistake for ''Stromateis'' (Στρωματεῖς, "Patchwork," i.e., ''Miscellanies''), attributed to Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c. 215), is the third of a trilogy of works regarding the Christ ...

on the stems of trees and shrubs. The stromata are orange-brown and consist of radiating,

perithecial An ascocarp, or ascoma (), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. Ascocarps are mos ...

lobes. This species of ''Hypocreopsis'' was only discovered in 1992 in

Nyora Nyora is a town in South Gippsland, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, approximately south-east of Melbourne, Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the Shires of Shire of Baw Baw, B ...

(Victoria) during a survey of

vascular plant Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They al ...

s.Johnston, P.R., May, T.W., Park, D. and Horak, E. (2007) ''Hypocreopsis amplectens'' sp. nov., a rare fungus from New Zealand and Australia. ''New Zealand Journal of Botany'', 45, 715–719.

Description

Found on dead and living branches of tea-tree,

paperbark ''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of ''Leptospermum''). They range in size f ...

and

banksia ''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and fruiting "cones" and heads. ''Banksias'' range i ...

in long-unburnt coastal stands in Victoria, this firm-textured, brown, irregularly shaped species forms a raised mass which clasps dead branches with light brown, finger-like lobes. Most commonly dead branches of prickly tea-tree (''

Leptospermum continentale ''Leptospermum continentale'', commonly known as prickly tea-tree, is a species of slender, straggling shrub that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has sharp-pointed, narrowly egg-shaped leaves, white flowers arranged singly in leaf axil ...

''), silky tea-tree (''L. myrsinoides''), silver banksia (''

Banksia marginata ''Banksia marginata'', commonly known as the silver banksia, is a species of tree or woody shrub in the plant genus ''Banksia'' found throughout much of southeastern Australia. It ranges from the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia to north of Arm ...

'') and more recently on Yarra Burgan ''(Kunzea leptospermoides)''. It has also been found on dead and living scented paperbark (''

Melaleuca squarrosa ''Melaleuca squarrosa'', commonly known as scented paperbark, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to south eastern parts of Australia, especially Tasmania. It is an attractive shrub with dense foliage and arching branches an ...

''). The immediate substrate is a Brown Paint Fungus ''(Hymenochaete'' sp.) and likely ''Phellinus'' sp. Fruit body length to 60 mm; a raised mass, strongly lobed; margin irregular. Lobes to 10 mm wide, clasping substrate; brown, tips of lobes paler yellowish-brown; older specimens often have white, powdery areas.

Distribution & Conservation

This species of

was discovered at Arthurs Pass National Park, Canterbury in 1983 in South Island of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and in 1992 in Nyora, Victoria

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

during a survey of

vascular plants Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They al ...

. This fungus has previously been referred to as ''Hypocreopsis'' sp. and ''Hypocreopsis'' sp. ‘Nyora’ in the Australian literature. In Victoria, ''H. amplectens' (common name Tea-tree Fingers)' has been classified as "vulnerable" under the Victorian

Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 The ''Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988'', also known as the ''FFG Act'', is an act of the Victorian Government designed to protect species, genetic material and habitats, to prevent extinction and allow maximum genetic diversity within the Au ...

, and the Adams Creek Conservation Reserve west of Nyora, was created partly because of its occurrence there. Recent work to raise the profile of Tea-tree Fingers ''(Hypocreopsis amplectens)'' including an educationa
booklet
produced by Fungimap in 2016 resulted in a fourth site being found in the Victorian Yarra Valley by the Fungi Group of the Victorian Field Naturalists Club in 2017. This new population has had the largest number of individual fruiting bodies recorded on new host plant the Yarra Burgan (''

Kunzea leptospermoides ''Kunzea leptospermoides'', commonly known as Yarra burgan, is a flowering plant in Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, and is endemic to Victoria, Australia. It is an erect shrub or small tree with narrow leaves and white flowers crowded near the ends ...

''). Since 2016 repeated visits the Adams Creek and Grantville Nature Conservation Reserves have confirmed small populations survive, however recent surveys of the original location in Greens Bush, on the Mornington Peninsula have resulted in no sightings. Observations based on photographs indicate that this species was observed in 2006 at Hamner Forest Park, Canterbury of the South Island

and in 2015 the New England National Park, New South Wales

. Despite identification information about this species being available since 2005, Tea-tree Fingers ''(Hypocreopsis amplectens)'' is confirmed from only three sites of 5 sites in the since 2016 in

, making it a rare fungus eligible for inclusion on national threat status lists in

May TW, McMullan-Fisher SJM 2016 Holding on to Tea-tree fingers: a critically endangered fungus. Australasian Plant Conservation 25 (3) and two sites

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q10530056 Fungi described in 2007 Fungi of Australia Hypocreaceae Taxa named by Tom May (mycologist) Fungimap Specie
Profile
Tea-tree Fingers ''(Hypocreopsis amplectens)'' and photo-monitorin
information