| Cyttaria gunnii | |
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| at Cradle Mtn NP | |
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| Species: | C. gunnii |
| Binomial name | |
| Cyttaria gunnii Berk. (1845) | |
Cyttaria gunnii, commonly known as the myrtle orange or beech orange, is an orange-white coloured and edible ascomycete fungus native to Australia. It is a specific parasite of myrtle beech ( Nothofagus cunninghamii ) trees.
English botanist Miles Joseph Berkeley described the beech orange in 1848. [1] In 1886, a New Zealand fungus similar to the beech orange was described as Cyttaria purdiei; later, however, the two species were assumed to be the same. A molecular study has now found the Australian and New Zealand fungi known as C. gunnii to be two distinct species. New Zealand populations are restricted to Nothofagus menziesii while the Australian ones are only found on Nothofagus cunninghamii and are hence found in southern Victoria and Tasmania. [2] [3]
The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia records that "This edible fungus is found on the branches of Fagus Cunnittghamii or native Beech. Tasmania." [4]
The evolution of the genus parallels that of the host genus Nothofagus ; hence C. septentrionalis, the closest relative, parasitises Antarctic beech ( Nothofagus moorei ), the closest relative of myrtle beech. Ancestors of the two species are thought to have diverged from the South American and New Zealand Cyttaria species between 28 and 44 million years ago. [5]
The fungi form globose woody galls on their host trees, though they do not appear to spread through them. They are perennial and produce crops of fruit bodies annually. [3] Said to resemble bunches of grapes, the fruit bodies appear in clusters in late spring and summer (November to January). [6] Globular or pear-shaped, these can reach 2.5 cm (1 in) in diameter. They are covered by a membrane that bursts, uncovering a network of concavities. The spore print is black and the spores measure 12 by 7–12 μm. [7] Aboriginal Australians have used the fruit bodies as food. [8] The fruits have a consistency akin to jelly and are reportedly pleasant-tasting. [3]
Nothofagus, also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere in southern South America and east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and New Caledonia. The species are ecological dominants in many temperate forests in these regions. Some species are reportedly naturalised in Germany and Great Britain. The genus has a rich fossil record of leaves, cupules, and pollen, with fossils extending into the late Cretaceous period and occurring in Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, and South America.
The Tasmanian temperate rain forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in western Tasmania. The ecoregion is part of the Australasian realm, which includes Tasmania and Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, New Caledonia, and adjacent islands.
Nothofagus cunninghamii, commonly known as myrtle beech or Tasmanian myrtle, is the dominant species of cool temperate rainforests in Tasmania and Southern Victoria. It has low fire resistance and grows best in partial shade conditions.
Nothofagus gunnii, the tanglefoot or deciduous beech, is a deciduous shrub or small tree endemic to the highlands of Tasmania, Australia. It was described in 1847 by R.C Gunn N. gunnii is a small woody tree with a shrubby appearance known to grow up to 8 metres (26 ft). It lives only on mountains due to temperature limitations within the Tasmanian maritime climate and mainly grows at altitudes greater than 800 metres (2,600 ft) above sea level. It grows in alpine and sub-alpine regions in the central portions of the island. Though capable of reaching the size of a small tree, it is most common as a thick shrub or woody ground cover, hence its common name of "tanglefoot".
Nothofagus moorei, commonly known as Antarctic beech, is an important Gondwana relict of the rainforests of the southern hemisphere. It occurs in wet, fire-free areas at high altitude in eastern Australia.
Russula is a very large genus composed of around 750 worldwide species of ectomycorrhizal mushrooms. They are typically common, fairly large, and brightly colored – making them one of the most recognizable genera among mycologists and mushroom collectors. Their distinguishing characteristics include usually brightly coloured caps, a white to dark yellow spore print, brittle, attached gills, an absence of latex, and absence of partial veil or volva tissue on the stem. Microscopically, the genus is characterised by the amyloid ornamented spores and flesh (trama) composed of spherocysts. Members of the related genus Lactarius have similar characteristics but emit a milky latex when their gills are broken. The genus was described by Christian Hendrik Persoon in 1796.
Chalciporus piperatus, commonly known as the peppery bolete, is a small pored mushroom of the family Boletaceae found in mixed woodland in Europe and North America. It has been recorded under introduced trees in Brazil, and has become naturalised in Tasmania and spread under native Nothofagus cunninghamii trees. A small bolete, the fruit body has a 1.6–9 cm orange-fawn cap with cinnamon to brown pores underneath, and a 4–9.5 cm high by 0.6–1.2 cm thick stipe. The flesh has a very peppery taste. The rare variety hypochryseus, found only in Europe, has yellow pores and tubes.
Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca, commonly known as the false chanterelle, is a species of fungus in the family Hygrophoropsidaceae. It is found across several continents, growing in woodland and heathland, and sometimes on woodchips used in gardening and landscaping. Fruit bodies (mushrooms) are yellow–orange, with a funnel-shaped cap up to 8 cm across that has a felt-like surface. The thin, often forked gills on the underside of the cap run partway down the length of the otherwise smooth stipe. Reports on the mushroom's edibility vary – it is considered poisonous, but has historically been eaten in parts of Europe and the Americas.
The Fungi of Australia form an enormous and phenomenally diverse group, a huge range of freshwater, marine and terrestrial habitats with many ecological roles, for example as saprobes, parasites and mutualistic symbionts of algae, animals and plants, and as agents of biodeterioration. Where plants produce, and animals consume, the fungi recycle, and as such they ensure the sustainability of ecosystems.
Omphalotus nidiformis, or ghost fungus, is a gilled basidiomycete mushroom most notable for its bioluminescent properties. It is known to be found primarily in southern Australia and Tasmania, but was reported from India in 2012 and 2018. The fan or funnel shaped fruit bodies are up to 30 cm (12 in) across, with cream-coloured caps overlain with shades of orange, brown, purple, or bluish-black. The white or cream gills run down the length of the stipe, which is up to 8 cm (3 in) long and tapers in thickness to the base. The fungus is both saprotrophic and parasitic, and its fruit bodies are generally found growing in overlapping clusters on a wide variety of dead or dying trees.
Cyttaria espinosae (Lloyd), also known by its local name digüeñe, dihueñe, lihueñe, quireñe, pinatra, or quideñe, is an orange-white coloured and edible ascomycete fungus native to south-central Chile and Argentinean Patagonia. The digüeñe is a strict and specific parasite of Nothofagus, mainly Nothofagus obliqua trees and cause canker-like galls on branches from which the fruiting bodies emerge between spring and early summer. The pitted surface generates air turbulence, preventing a build-up of static air around the fruitbodies, thus facilitating wind-borne spore dispersal.
Cyttaria is a genus of ascomycete fungi. About 10 species belong to Cyttaria, found in South America, Australia and New Zealand, associated with or growing on southern beech trees from the genus Nothofagus. The "llao llao" fungus Cyttaria hariotii, one of the most common fungi in Andean-Patagonian forests, has been shown to harbor the yeast Saccharomyces eubayanus, which may be source of the lager yeast S. pastorianus cold-tolerance. Cyttaria was originally described by mycologist Miles Joseph Berkeley in 1842.
Geopyxis carbonaria is a species of fungus in the genus Geopyxis, family Pyronemataceae. First described to science in 1805, and given its current name in 1889, the species is commonly known as the charcoal loving elf-cup, dwarf acorn cup, stalked bonfire cup, or pixie cup. The small, goblet-shaped fruitbodies of the fungus are reddish-brown with a whitish fringe and measure up to 2 centimetres across. They have a short, tapered stalk.
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 kirinomitake (キリノミタケ). This extremely rare mushroom is notable for its unusual appearance and disjunct distribution; it is found only in select locales in Texas and Japan. The fruit body, which grows on the stumps or dead roots of cedar elms or dead oaks, somewhat resembles a dark brown or black cigar before it splits open radially into a starlike arrangement of four to seven leathery rays. The interior surface of the fruit body bears the spore-bearing tissue known as the hymenium, and is colored white to brown, depending on its age. The fruit body opening can be accompanied by a distinct hissing sound and the release of a smoky cloud of spores.
Cortinarius porphyroideus, commonly known as purple pouch fungus, is a secotioid species of fungus endemic to New Zealand. It was one of six species that appeared as part of a series depicting native New Zealand fungi on stamps, released in 2002.
Glutinoglossum is a genus of six species of earth-tongue fungi in the family Geoglossaceae. The widespread type species, G. glutinosum, is commonly known as the "glutinous earth tongue". G. heptaseptatum is known only from the Czech Republic. Four additional species were described in 2015.
Laetiporus portentosus is a species of polypore fungus in the family Fomitopsidaceae, found in South America, Australia, and in the North Island and northern South Island of New Zealand.
Cortinarius metallicus, originally described as Rozites metallica and commonly known as the steel blue rozites, is a species of mushroom native to Australia.
Tyromyces pulcherrimus, commonly known as the strawberry bracket, is a species of poroid fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It is readily recognisable by its reddish fruit bodies with pores on the cap underside. The fungus is found natively in Australia and New Zealand, where it causes a white rot in living and dead logs of southern beech and eucalyptus. In southern Brazil, it is an introduced species that is associated with imported eucalypts.
Cyclocybe parasitica, also known as tawaka in Māori language or poplar mushroom, is a species of gilled mushroom in the genus Cyclocybe found mostly in New Zealand and Australia. It grows on native and introduced trees where it can cause heart rot, and does not seem to be associated with conifers.