''Morchella deqinensis'' is a species of

fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from th ...

in the family

Morchellaceae The Morchellaceae are a family of ascomycete fungi in the order Pezizales. According to a standard reference work, the family has contained at least 49 species distributed among four genera. However, in 2012, five genera that produce ascoma that ...

found in China. It grows in

coniferous Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extant ...

and mixed forests at an elevation of .

Taxonomy

The species was reported as new to science in 2006 by Shu-Hong Li and colleagues from the

Yunnan Agricultural University Yunnan Agricultural University (云南农业大学) is in Kunming, Yunnan, China. History It was initially established in Kunming in 1938 as the 'School of Agricultural' at Yunnan University. Separated from Yunnan University in 1958, the School ...

. 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 ...

''deqinensis'' refers to

Dêqên County Dêqên County ( bo, བདེ་ཆེན་རྫོང་), or Deqin County (), is under the administration of Dêqên Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, located in the northwest of Yunnan province, China. Geography and climate Dêqên occupies ...

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

, where the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...

was collected.

Description

Fruit bodies The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cyc ...

are tall; of this, the egg-shaped to broadly conical cap is wide by tall. Its surface features sparse, vertically arranged ridges that are dark greenish-brown in colour. The intersection of vertical and horizontal ridges form irregularly shaped, cream-coloured pits that are generally two or three times as long as they are wide. The flesh is firm and thin, and lacks any distinct odour or taste. The cap is completely attached to the hollow, conical stipe, which measures long by wide. Initially whitish, it becomes rust-coloured in maturity or after drying. White granules are present at the top of the stipe and in the grooves at the base. 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 ...

(fertile, spore-bearing surface) is 6–10

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 ...

thick.

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-bearing cells) are cylindrical, eight-spored,

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) and measure 9.9–10.5 µm thick by 105–150 µm long. In deposit, the spores are cream coloured. Spores are

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 egg-shaped, smooth, hyaline, and have dimensions of 6.4–8.1 by 9.2–9.6 µm. They are thin walled and lack oil droplets.

Paraphyses Paraphyses are erect sterile filament-like support structures occurring among the reproductive apparatuses of fungi, ferns, bryophytes and some thallophytes. The singular form of the word is paraphysis. In certain fungi, they are part of the fe ...

are club shaped with a

septum 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 ...

at the base, and measure 3.6–4.5 by 43 µm.

Similar species

'' Morchella umbrina'' is somewhat similar in appearance to ''M. deqinensis'', but the former species can be distinguished by its deeper colour, the smaller pits on the cap surface, and the absence of granules on the stipe.

Habitat and distribution

''Morchella deqinensis'' is known only from China, where it fruits on the ground in

and mixed forests at an elevation of . The type collection was made in April.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q6909532 Edible fungi Fungi described in 2006 Fungi of Asia deqinensis