''Korfiella'' is a fungal

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 ...

in the family

Sarcosomataceae The Sarcosomataceae are a family of fungi in the order Pezizales. According to a 2008 estimate, the family contains 10 genera and 57 species. Most species are found in temperate areas, and are typically saprobic Saprotrophic nutrition or lyso ...

. A

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus, it contains the single species ''Korfiella karnika'', found in India and described as new to science in 1970.

Discovery

The first scientifically documented collections of ''Korfiella karnika'' were made in November, 1965. Fruitbodies of the fungus were found growing on the rotting stump of a tree in

Nainital Nainital ( Kumaoni: ''Naintāl''; ) is a city and headquarters of Nainital district of Kumaon division, Uttarakhand, India. It is the judicial capital of Uttarakhand, the High Court of the state being located there and is the headquarters o ...

, India. Specimens were sent to the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

, where mycologist

R.W.G. Dennis Richard William George Dennis, PhD (13 July 1910 – 7 June 2003), was an English mycologist and plant pathologist. Background and education Dennis was born in Thornbury, Gloucestershire, the son of a schoolmaster. He was educated at Thorn ...

noted their similarity to '' Plectania melastoma''. After further consultation with

Discomycetes Discomycetes is a former taxonomic class of Ascomycete fungi which contains all of the cup, sponge and brain fungi and some club-like fungi. It includes typical cup fungi like the scarlet elf cup and the orange peel fungus, and fungi with frui ...

authority Richard Korf, the authors Pant and Tewari erected a new genus, naming it in honour of Korf. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''karnika''—derived from the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

''karna'', ("ear")—refers to the fruitbody shape. Pant and Tewari considered the fungus aligned with the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

''Urnuleae'' of the family

Sarcoscyphaceae The ''Sarcoscyphaceae'' are a family of cup fungi in the order Pezizales. Members of the Sarcoscyphaceae are cosmopolitan in distribution, found in both tropical and temperate regions. Genera A 2008 estimate placed 13 genera and 102 species in ...

, according to the taxonomy of the time. ''Korfiella'' is now classified in the

. The phylogenetics of the family was examined using

molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...

techniques in a 2013 paper, but "Unfortunately, ''Korfiella'' has not been included due to the temporary absence of available samples."

Description

The genus ''Korfiella'' has the following characteristics. Fruitbodies are leathery, with a split on one side that extends all the way to the base. They tend to grow in groups or scattered, attached to the substrate either directly, or, more rarely, by a short stipe-like base. The outer fruitbody surface is brown, while the surface of the

hymenium The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in others some ...

is black. Microscopically, the excipulum (the tissue making up the walls of the

apothecium 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 ...

) comprises two distinct layers. The medullary excipulum is made of textura intricata, containing brown

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 ...

e running parallel to the outside. The ectal excipulum is dark chestnut-brown, with textura angularis tissue.

Asci ASCI or Asci may refer to: * Advertising Standards Council of India * Asci, the plural of ascus, in fungal anatomy * Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative * American Society for Clinical Investigation * Argus Sour Crude Index * Association of ...

(spore-sproducing cells) do not turn blue when stained with iodine. They are long, with a cylindrical shape, and suboperculate.

Spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, f ...

produced by ''Korfiella karnika'' are

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none. Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is ...

(translucent), oval to elliptical, and contain one or two oil droplets. In addition to having the general characteristics of the genus, ''Korfiella karnika'' is further defined by more specific measurements. The ear-shaped fruitbodies tend to be wide and tall. The hymenium measures 234–468 µm, including a subhymenium of 58–117

µm The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

. The long, cylindrical asci measure 234–429 by 9.5–11 µm thick, and have narrow, flexuous, forked bases. Spores are 16–21 by 8–10.5

Habitat and distribution

''Korfiella'' is known only from its type collection in Ayar Pata, Nainital, India. It was found growing among mosses atop a rotting stump.

References

} {{Taxonbar, from=Q6432205 Fungi of India Pezizales Monotypic Ascomycota genera