''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
agarics 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
liverworts 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
''Contumyces'' is a genus of brightly colored possibly bryophilous or graminicolous agarics in the Hymenochaetales. They have an omphalinoid morphology, and therefore were previously classified in ''Omphalina''http://perso.orange.fr/famm/Photos/B ...
'', ''
Gyroflexus
''Gyroflexus'' is a monotypic genus with a yellowish-ivory colored omphalinoid agaric in the Hymenochaetales that grows on living ''Sphagnum'' Phylogenetically related agarics are in the genera ''Rickenella'', ''Blasiphalia'', ''Loreleia'', ''Can ...
'', ''
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
''Cantharellopsis'' is a tan- to whitish-colored bryophilous monotypic genus in the Hymenochaetales. The fruit bodies of the single species ''Cantharellopsis prescotii'' has a form intermediate between an ''Omphalina'' and a chanterelle (''Cantha ...
'' and ''
Blasiphalia
''Blasiphalia'' is a fungal genus in the family Repetobasidiaceae. A monotypic genus, it contains the honey colored omphalinoid agaricbr> ''Blasiphalia pseudogrisella'', which grows with the Marchantiophyta, liverwort genus ''Blasia''. Phylogene ...
'', as well as the
stipitate-
stereoid genera ''
Muscinupta
''Muscinupta'' is a fungal genus that produces small white delicate fan-shaped to cupulate fruitbodies on mosses. It is monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. ...
'' and ''
Cotylidia
''Cotylidia'' is a fungal genus characterized by small to moderately sized, white to palely yet brightly colored, stalked, fan-shaped to funnel-shaped fruit bodiehttps://web.archive.org/web/20070821184454/http://www.fungaljungal.org/family_pages ...
'' and the clavaroid genus, ''
Alloclavaria''.
[ However, the large number of DNA base-pair 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 cladograms.
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 that in ''Rickenella'' make the latter minutely fuzzy as seen with a hand lens. ''Loreleia'' penetrates the rhizoids 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,
References
External links
www.nahuby.sk
Image of ''Loreleia postii''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6680331
Repetobasidiaceae
Agaricomycetes genera