fungi
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 ...
in the
class
Class or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...
basidiomycete
Basidiomycota () is one of two large divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya (often referred to as the "higher fungi") within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. More specifically, Ba ...
fungi composed entirely of lichenized members. Morphologically, the fruiting bodies of all species are clavarioid. Six species are known, five of which were described within the span of 2007–2013. Due to its morphological similarity to the genus ''
Multiclavula
''Multiclavula'' is a genus of basidiolichens in the family Hydnaceae. The widespread genus contains 14 species.Reschke, K., Lotz-Winter, H., Fischer, C.W., Hofmann, T.A., Piepenbring, M., 2021. New and interesting species of Agaricomycetes from ...
'', its isolated
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 ...
position (distinct from all other orders based on molecular data) was not understood until quite recently. The
photobiont
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.
Taxonomy
Members of Lepidostromatales closely resemble species of ''
Multiclavula
''Multiclavula'' is a genus of basidiolichens in the family Hydnaceae. The widespread genus contains 14 species.Reschke, K., Lotz-Winter, H., Fischer, C.W., Hofmann, T.A., Piepenbring, M., 2021. New and interesting species of Agaricomycetes from ...
'' because these groups share a combination of clavarioid fruiting bodies and lichenized
thalli
Thallus (plural: thalli), from Latinized Greek (), meaning "a green shoot" or "twig", is the vegetative tissue of some organisms in diverse groups such as algae, fungi, some liverworts, lichens, and the Myxogastria. Many of these organisms were ...
. The first species described in the order was originally described in the genus ''
Clavaria
''Clavaria'' is a genus of fungi in the family Clavariaceae. Species of ''Clavaria'' produce basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that are either cylindrical to club-shaped or branched and coral-like. They are often grouped with similar-looking species f ...
'' due to the clavarioid fungal
fruiting body
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 cy ...
, and was later transferred to ''Multiclavula'' (
Cantharellales
The Cantharellales are an order of fungi in the class Agaricomycetes. The order includes not only the chanterelles (Cantharellaceae), but also some of the tooth fungi (Hydnaceae), clavarioid fungi ( Aphelariaceae and Clavulinaceae), and cor ...
) due to the lichenized thallus. The group was first recognized as distinct on account of the small squamules (scale-like structures) that make up the thallus, and the
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
''
Lepidostroma
''Lepidostroma'' is a genus in the family Lepidostromataceae (the only family within the fungal order Lepidostromatales). The genus is distinguished from all other lichenized clavarioid fungi (''Multiclavula'' (''Cantharellales
The Cantharel ...
'' was created as a result. With the addition of two more squamulose species discovered in
tropical
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 ...
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, this separation was not accepted and ''Multiclavula'' was again emended to include species with squamulose thalli. However, molecular phylogenetic analyses eventually confirmed ''Lepidostroma'' as a distinct lineage, Lepidostromataceae, unrelated to ''Multiclavula''. The recent discovery of three further species (for a total of six species), created an opportunity for more in-depth phylogenetic research, which confirmed the isolation of the family from all described orders. As a result, the group was raised to the rank of order (Lepidostromatales).
Although the separation of this group from ''Multiclavula'' was originally based on thallus type, further research has demonstrated that members of the group actually have three distinct thallus types, one of which ('crustose-granulose') matches up with ''Multiclavula''. However, the
photobiont
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.chlorococcoid instead of coccomyxoid (which is the type found in ''Multiclavula''), making the photobiont-type a reasonable diagnostic feature for the group. The three thallus types correlate with the current division of the group into three genera:
*''
Ertzia
''Ertzia'' is a monospecific genus in the family Lepidostromataceae (the only family within the fungal order Lepidostromatales). The sole species is ''Ertzia akagerae''. The genus was circumscribed in 2014 by Brendan Hodkinson and Robert Lück ...
''
*''
Lepidostroma
''Lepidostroma'' is a genus in the family Lepidostromataceae (the only family within the fungal order Lepidostromatales). The genus is distinguished from all other lichenized clavarioid fungi (''Multiclavula'' (''Cantharellales
The Cantharel ...
All known members of the order are lichenized and grow on soil in
tropical
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 ...
regions of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...