''Loreleia'' 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 brightly colored

agaric An agaric () is a type of fungus fruiting body characterized by the presence of a pileus (cap) that is clearly differentiated from the stipe (stalk), with lamellae (gills) on the underside of the pileus. In the UK, agarics are called "mushrooms ...

s in the

Hymenochaetales The Hymenochaetales are an order of fungi in the class Agaricomycetes. The order in its current sense is based on molecular research and not on any unifying morphological characteristics. According to one 2008 estimate, the Hymenochaetales con ...

that have an omphalinoid morphology. They inhabit

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

es and or

liverwort The Marchantiophyta () are a division of non-vascular land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of g ...

s on soil in

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 ...

regions of the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

. Phylogenetically related agarics are in the genera '' Contumyces'', '' Gyroflexus'', ''

Rickenella ''Rickenella'' is a genus of brightly colored bryophilous agarics in the Hymenochaetales that have an omphalinoid morphology. They inhabit mosses on mossy soils, peats, tree trunks and logs in temperate regions of both the Northern and Southern ...

'', '' Cantharellopsis'' and '' Blasiphalia'', as well as the stipitate-

stereoid ''Stereoid'' is the first album of the Hungarian electronic trio Compact Disco. It was released in 2009 by Hungarian independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding o ...

genera '' Muscinupta'' and '' Cotylidia'' and the clavaroid genus, ''

Alloclavaria ''Alloclavaria'' is a clavarioid genus in the Hymenochaetales recently segregated from ''Clavaria'' by molecular analysis. Phylogenetically related fungi are in the agaricoid genera '' Rickenella'', '' Contumyces'', '' Gyroflexus'', '' Loreleia'' ...

''. However, the large number of DNA

base-pair A base pair (bp) is a fundamental unit of double-stranded nucleic acids consisting of two nucleobases bound to each other by hydrogen bonds. They form the building blocks of the DNA double helix and contribute to the folded structure of both DNA ...

changes causes a long-branch to form in

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

analyses depicted as

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to d ...

s. In the field, to the eye, ''Loreleia'' is most similar to ''Rickenella'' because of the orangish colors and omphalinoid shape, but microscopically it differs by the absence of

cystidia A cystidium (plural cystidia) is a relatively large cell found on the sporocarp of a basidiomycete (for example, on the surface of a mushroom gill), often between clusters of basidia. Since cystidia have highly varied and distinct shapes that ar ...

that in ''Rickenella'' make the latter minutely fuzzy as seen with a hand lens. ''Loreleia'' penetrates the

rhizoid Rhizoids are protuberances that extend from the lower epidermal cells of bryophytes and algae. They are similar in structure and function to the root hairs of vascular land plants. Similar structures are formed by some fungi. Rhizoids may be unic ...

s of liverworts and may form a type of

symbiosis Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...

with them, but in

axenic In biology, axenic (, ) describes the state of a culture in which only a single species, variety, or strain of organism is present and entirely free of all other contaminating organisms. The earliest axenic cultures were of bacteria or unicellul ...

culture tests, ''L. marchantiae'' killed ''Marchantia polymorpha'' when directly inoculated in contrast to the absence of necrosis in nature ''in situ''. In nature ''Loreleia'' often occur in wet areas such as seepages with their hosts, ''

Marchantia ''Marchantia'' is a genus of liverworts in the family Marchantiaceae and the order Marchantiales. The thallus of ''Marchantia'' shows differentiation into two layers: an upper photosynthetic layer with a well-defined upper epidermis with pore ...

''. Older literature often treats the species, like ''L. postii'' and ''L. marchantiae'', in the genera ''

Omphalina ''Omphalina'' is a genus of small agarics with white, nonamyloid, basidiospores and decurrent gills. Typically the cap has a deep central depression giving the umbrella-like to funnel-shaped cap the appearance of a belly button, or a belly with a ...

'' or ''

Gerronema ''Gerronema'' is a genus of small- to medium-sized lignicolous agarics with white, nonamyloid, spores and decurrent gills. The genus was circumscribed by American mycologist Rolf Singer in 1951. Description Typically the cap of the fruit bodi ...

''.

Etymology

''Loreleia'' was named after the American mycologist, Dr. Lorelei L. Norvell (b.1943), who studied omphalinoid agarics, and who apropos was in turn named after the riverine

Lorelei The Lorelei ( ; ), spelled Loreley in German, is a , steep slate rock on the right bank of the River Rhine in the Rhine Gorge (or Middle Rhine) at Sankt Goarshausen in Germany, part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site. Th ...

of folklore.

References

External links

www.nahuby.sk
Image of ''Loreleia postii'' {{Taxonbar, from=Q6680331 Repetobasidiaceae Agaricomycetes genera