''Podaxis'' 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 secotioid fungi in the family Agaricaceae. Species, which have the appearance of a "stalked-puffball", have a worldwide distribution, and tend to be found growing solitary or scattered on sandy soils, especially in arid regions. Although close to 50 species have been described, it has been argued that many of them may represent extremes in the natural range of variations found in ''

Podaxis pistillaris ''Podaxis pistillaris'' is a very distinctive relative of the puffballs. It is commonly known as the desert shaggy mane as it bears a resemblance to the shaggy mane, ''Coprinus comatus'', however it does not possess deliquescing gills and the si ...

''.

Description

Fruiting bodies have the appearance of an unopened ''

Coprinus comatus ''Coprinus comatus'', the shaggy ink cap, lawyer's wig, or shaggy mane, is a common fungus often seen growing on lawns, along gravel roads and waste areas. The young fruit bodies first appear as white cylinders emerging from the ground, then th ...

'', with a stipe and a loose, brown to blackish powdery gleba at maturity. Basidiospores are obovate, thick-walled with a large apical pore, and typically 10-17 x 9-12

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 ...

in size. Clamp connections are present. ''Podaxis'' is a common inhabitant of soil and termite mounds throughout the drier regions of the

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and

subtropics The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north and ...

of the world. '' P. pistillaris'' is a ground-inhabiting species, but most ''Podaxis'' species in the rest of the world are associated with

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...

mounds. This includes the

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 ...

n species ''P. beringamensis''.

Taxonomy

The genus was originally named ''Podaxis'' and

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

by Nicaise Auguste Desvaux in 1809, while

Elias Magnus Fries Elias Magnus Fries (15 August 1794 – 8 February 1878) was a Swedish mycologist and botanist. Career Fries was born at Femsjö (Hylte Municipality), Småland, the son of the pastor there. He attended school in Växjö. He acquired ...

later (1829) called the taxon ''Podaxon''. Although a number of articles have used the latter name, ''Podaxis'' is the preferred name as it has nomenclatorial priority due to its earlier publication. Early suggestions that ''Podaxis'' was related to the genus '' Coprinus'' were later confirmed using

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 ...

analysis based on sequence data of rDNA genes. This research showed that ''Podaxis'' is in a

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

with the species ''

Montagnea arenaria ''Montagnea arenaria'' is a species of secotioid fungus in the family Agaricaceae. Originally named ''Agaricus arenarius'' by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1815, it was transferred to the genus ''Montagnea'' by Sanford Myron Zeller in 1943. The ...

'' and ''

Agaricus pocillator ''Agaricus pocillator'', a woodland mushroom, is distributed through southeastern North America in ranges at least as far north as Illinois. It can be distinguished in the field by its dark center, its small, bulbous base, which stains yellow, a ...

'', and the genus '' Leucocoprinus''. For this reason, ''Podaxis'' was transferred to the family Agaricaceae (order Agaricales) from the now obsolete family name ''Podaxaceae'' (order Podaxales). A section of ''Podaxis'', named ''Parvispora'', was circumscribed to accommodate three species (''P. argentinus'', ''P. longii'' and ''P. microsporus'') with small spores.

Species

, Index Fungorum accepts 28 species in ''Podaxis'': *'' Podaxis africana'' De Villiers, Eicker & Van der Westh. 1989 – Africa *'' Podaxis algericus'' Pat. 1904 *'' Podaxis anomalus'' Lloyd 1920 *'' Podaxis argentinus'' Speg. 1898 *'' Podaxis axatus'' (Bosc) Massee 1890 *'' Podaxis beringamensis'' Priest & M.Lenz 1999 – Australia *'' Podaxis carcinomalis'' (L.f.) Fr. 1829 – Ghana *'' Podaxis chevalieri'' Pat. & Har. 1900 *'' Podaxis deciduus'' Bat. 1951 *'' Podaxis dilabentis'' Bat. 1951 *'' Podaxis emerici'' (Berk.) Massee 1890 *'' Podaxis farlowii'' Massee 1890 *'' Podaxis fastigatus'' Bat. 1951 *'' Podaxis ferrandi'' Mattir. 1913 *'' Podaxis ghattasensis'' Henn. 1898 *'' Podaxis glaziovii'' Henn. 1897 *'' Podaxis gollanii'' Henn. 1901 *'' Podaxis longii'' McKnight 1985 *'' Podaxis macrosporus'' Speg. 1906 *'' Podaxis microporus'' McKnight 1985 *'' Podaxis muelleri'' Henn. 1904 *'' Podaxis patagonicus'' Speg. 1898 *''

'' (L.) Fr. 1829 *'' Podaxis rugospora'' De Villiers, Eicker & Van der Westh. 1989 *'' Podaxis saharianus'' G.Moreno & Mornand 1997 *'' Podaxis senegalensis'' Desv. 1809 *'' Podaxis strobilaceus'' Copel. 1904 *'' Podaxis subterraneus'' S.Ahmad 1941

Uses

The dark purple spores of ''Podaxis'' species are used by Australian aborigines as a face paint. ''Podaxis aegyptiacus'' is used as a common traditional medicine in the

Bamako Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on t ...

region of

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

for wound-healing, and water extracts from the mushroom have been shown to have

carbohydrate In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or ma ...

s with beneficial effects on the

immune system The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as cancer cells and objects such as wood splinte ...

in vitro.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4120541 Agaricaceae Agaricales genera

Description

Taxonomy

Species

Uses

See also

References