''Urnula'' is a genus of

cup fungi The Pezizaceae (commonly referred to as cup fungi) are a family of fungi in the Ascomycota which produce mushrooms that tend to grow in the shape of a "cup". Spores are formed on the inner surface of the fruit body (mushroom). The cup shape typ ...

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 ...

, circumscribed by

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 ...

in 1849. The genus contains several species found in Asia, Europe, Greenland, and North America. Sarcosomataceae fungi produce dark-colored (brown to black), shallow to deep funnel-shaped fruitbodies with or without a stipe, growing in spring. The type species of the genus is ''

Urnula craterium ''Urnula craterium'' is a species of cup fungus in the family Sarcosomataceae. It is parasitic on oak and various other hardwood species; it is also saprobic, as the fruit bodies develop on dead wood after it has fallen to the ground. Appeari ...

'', commonly known as the devil's urn or the gray urn. ''Urnula'' species can grow as saprobes or parasites having an anamorphic state. The anamorphic form of ''U. craterium'' causes Strumella canker, on oak trees.

Taxonomy

circumscribed the new genus ''Urnula'' in 1849, and set what was then known as ''Peziza craterium'' as the type species. The genus name means "little urn"; 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 ...

is derived from the Latin ''

cratera A krater or crater ( grc-gre, , ''kratēr'', literally "mixing vessel") was a large two-handled shape of vase in Ancient Greek pottery and metalwork, mostly used for the mixing of wine with water. Form and function At a Greek symposium, kra ...

'', referring to a type of bowl used in antiquity.

Description

Imperfect states

The life cycle of ''Urnula craterium'' allows for both an imperfect (making asexual spores, or

conidia A conidium ( ; ), sometimes termed an asexual chlamydospore or chlamydoconidium (), is an asexual, non-motile spore of a fungus. The word ''conidium'' comes from the Ancient Greek word for dust, ('). They are also called mitospores due to the ...

) or perfect (making sexual spores) form; as has often happened in fungal taxonomy, the imperfect form was given a different name, because the relationship between the perfect and imperfect forms of the same species was not then known. The imperfect stage of ''Urnula craterium'' is the

plant pathogen Plant pathology (also phytopathology) is the scientific study of diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomyc ...

ic species ''Conoplea globosa'', known to cause a

canker A plant canker is a small area of dead tissue, which grows slowly, often over years. Some cankers are of only minor consequence, but others are ultimately lethal and therefore can have major economic implications for agriculture and horticultur ...

disease (Strumella canker) of oak and several other

hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

Species

*'' U. craterium'' (Schwein.) Fr. (1851) *'' U. groenlandica'' Dissing (1981) – Greenland *'' U. helvelloides'' Donadini, Berthet & Astier (1973) *'' U. hiemalis'' Nannf. (1949) – Northern Europe; Alaska *'' U. mediterranea'' (M.Carbone, Agnello & Baglivo) M.Carbone, Agnello & P.Alvarado (2013) *'' U. mexicana'' *'' U. padeniana'' M.Carbone, Agnello, A.D.Parker & P.Alvarado (2013) *'' U. philippinarum'' Rehm (1914) – Philippines *'' U. torrendii'' Boud. (1911) – Europe *'' U. versiformis'' Y.Z.Wang & C.L.Huang (2014) – Taiwan *'' U. viridirubescens'' (Bagnis) Boud. (1907) The European species provisionally named ''Urnula brachysperma'' by François Brunelli in 1997 is not yet validly published. Several species once classified in ''Urnula'' have since been transferred to other genera in the Sarcosomataceae or the

Chorioactidaceae The Chorioactidaceae are a family of cup fungi The Pezizaceae (commonly referred to as cup fungi) are a family of fungi in the Ascomycota which produce mushrooms that tend to grow in the shape of a "cup". Spores are formed on the inner surf ...

. Peck's 1894 ''Urnula geaster'' is now type species of the genus ''

Chorioactis ''Chorioactis'' is a genus of fungi that contains the single species ''Chorioactis geaster''. The mushroom is commonly known as the devil's cigar or the Texas star in the United States, while in Japan it is called . This extremely rare mushroom ...

'', while ''Urnula pouchetii'' Berthet & Riousset 1965 in now in ''

Neournula ''Neournula'' is a genus of fungi in the family Chorioactidaceae. There are two species in the genus, found in the US, Europe, and northern Africa. Spore examination may be necessary to distinguish the species from those of the genus ''Urnula ...

'' (Chorioactidaceae). ''Urnula lusitanica'', published in 1911 by Torrend and Boudier, is now '' Donadinia lusitanica''. ''Urnula megalocrater'' Malençon & Le Gal 1958, ''Urnula platensis'' Speg. 1898, and ''Urnula rugosa'' Le Gal 1958 are now all classified in the genus ''

Plectania ''Plectania'' is a genus of fungi in the family Sarcosomataceae. There are 15 species in the genus, which have a widespread distribution, especially in northern temperate areas. ''Plectania'' was circumscribed by German botanist Karl Wilhelm Got ...

''.

Habitat and distribution

''Urnula'' species can grow as saprobes or parasites having an anamorphic state. Fruitbodies of ''U. craterium'' and ''U. hiemalis'' tend to persist in one location for many growing seasons, sometimes even for several decades.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4006482 Pezizales genera Pezizales Taxa named by Elias Magnus Fries Taxa described in 1849