Guepinia
Encyclopedia
Guepinia is a genus
of fungus
in the Auriculariales
order. It is a monotypic
genus, containing the single species Guepinia helvelloides, commonly known as the apricot jelly. The fungus produces salmon-pink, ear-shaped, gelatinous fruit bodies that grow solitarily or in small tufted groups on soil, usually associated with buried rotting wood. The fruit bodies are 4 – tall and up to 17 cm (6.7 in) wide; the stalks
are not well-differentiated from the cap
. The fungus, although rubbery, is edible
, and may be eaten raw with salads, pickled, or candied. It has a white spore deposit, and the oblong to ellipsoid spore
s measure 9–11 by 5–6 micrometer
s. The fungus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, and has also been collected from South America.
rufa by Nicolaus Joseph von Jacquin in 1778. Elias Magnus Fries
later (1828) called it Guepinia helvelloides in his Elenchus Fungorum, based on Augustin Pyramus de Candolle's Tremella helvelloides, both being names he sanctioned
. This has made Tremella rufa and all names based on it unavailable for use, as they are conserved. Later, Lucien Quélet
erected a separate monotypic
genus Phlogiotis for Jacquin's species, whereas Julius Oscar Brefeld
placed it (as Gyrocephalus rufa) in Persoon's small genus Gyrocephalus (rejected name for Gyromitra
). The proper name for the fungus was debated for some time, as the name Guepinia is a homonym
(pointed out by Fries in 1828), because it had been used by Toussaint Bastard in 1812 for a genus of flowering plants in the Cruciferae family. To further complicate matters, the generic name Teesdalia, originally considered to have priority
over the name Guepinia for the plant genus, was later determined to have been validly published after Guepinia, rendering Teesdalia an illegitimate name. In 1982, changes in the International Code for Botanical Nomenclature gave protected status to all names adopted by Fries in the Elenchus Fungorum, and established Guepinia as the correct genus name.
Guepinia is variously classified
in the Auriculariales
order, with uncertain familial position (incertae sedis
), or as part of the Exidiaceae family.
The genus is named after French mycologist Jean-Pierre Guépin (1779–1858). The mushroom is commonly
known as the "red jelly fungus", or "apricot jelly".
of Guepinia helvelloides grow singly or in small clumps. Although they can appear to be growing in the soil, their mycelium
lives in buried wood. They are 4 – tall and 3 – wide, spoon- or tongue-shaped, and twisted like a cornet or horn so that they look like a slender funnel, cut out on one side and often with a wavy margin. The fruit bodies are flexible, 2 – thick, and smooth on the outer side (which is covered with a fertile, spore-bearing hymenium
). In maturity they develop wrinkles or veins. They are usually attenuated on the underside into a cylindrical or depressed stem that is up to 5 cm (2 in) high and about 1.5 cm (0.590551181102362 in) thick. The stem is normally covered with a white tomentum at the base. The upper side (inside) of the fruit body is usually quite sterile or with a few isolated basidia and is slightly verrucose as a result of the densely crowded protruding ends of the hypha
e. The sterile and fertile surfaces of the fruit body are almost the same color, transparent reddish-orange to flesh pink or flesh orange, at other times more purplish-red. The fruit bodies usually develop a slightly brownish tinge when they are old. The underside is usually slightly more vividly colored than the upper side. The flesh
is gelatinous, softly so in the upper part of the fruit body and with a more cartilage-like consistency in the stem. It has a nondescript odor, and a watery, insignificant taste.
The hymenium
is developed on the under (outer) side of the fruit body. The basidia (spore-bearing cells) consist of a globular part (the hypobasidia) to which inflated or elongated epibasidia are attached. In Guepinia, the hypobasidia are egg-shaped to ellipsoid, measuring 12–16 by 9–12 μm
, and attached to fibril-like epibasidia that are 20–45 by 3–4 μm. The spore deposit
is white, while the spores are 9–11 by 5–6 μm, hyaline
(translucent), cylindrical to elongated ellipsoid in shape, and have a large oil drop.
, but bland, fungus. Older specimens are usually tough and indigestible. It can be used raw in salads, for pickling
in vinegar and also for preserving in sugar like candied fruit
. One source reports using it to prepare a wine by fermenting
with wine yeast.
species Cantharellus cinnabarinus
is superficially similar; unlike G. helvelloides, however, it does not have a rubbery and gelatinous texture, and its undersurface is wrinkled, not smooth.
North America, from Canada to Mexico. Europe, Iran, and Turkey. It is also known from Brazil and Puerto Rico. The fungus has also been collected from the Qinling
region of China.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of fungus
Fungus
A fungus is a member of a large 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, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
in the Auriculariales
Auriculariales
The Auriculariales are an order of fungi in the class Agaricomycetes. Species within the order were formerly referred to the "heterobasidiomycetes" or "jelly fungi", since many have gelatinous basidiocarps that produce spores on septate basidia...
order. It is a monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
genus, containing the single species Guepinia helvelloides, commonly known as the apricot jelly. The fungus produces salmon-pink, ear-shaped, gelatinous fruit bodies that grow solitarily or in small tufted groups on soil, usually associated with buried rotting wood. The fruit bodies are 4 – tall and up to 17 cm (6.7 in) wide; the stalks
Stipe (mycology)
thumb|150px|right|Diagram of a [[basidiomycete]] stipe with an [[annulus |annulus]] and [[volva |volva]]In mycology a stipe refers to the stem or stalk-like feature supporting the cap of a mushroom. Like all tissues of the mushroom other than the hymenium, the stipe is composed of sterile hyphal...
are not well-differentiated from the cap
Pileus (mycology)
The pileus is the technical name for the cap, or cap-like part, of a basidiocarp or ascocarp that supports a spore-bearing surface, the hymenium. The hymenium may consist of lamellae, tubes, or teeth, on the underside of the pileus...
. The fungus, although rubbery, is edible
Edible mushroom
Edible mushrooms are the fleshy and edible fruiting bodies of several species of fungi. Mushrooms belong to the macrofungi, because their fruiting structures are large enough to be seen with the naked eye. They can appear either below ground or above ground where they may be picked by hand...
, and may be eaten raw with salads, pickled, or candied. It has a white spore deposit, and the oblong to ellipsoid spore
Spore
In biology, a spore is a reproductive structure that is adapted for dispersal and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many bacteria, plants, algae, fungi and some protozoa. According to scientist Dr...
s measure 9–11 by 5–6 micrometer
Micrometer
A micrometer , sometimes known as a micrometer screw gauge, is a device incorporating a calibrated screw used widely for precise measurement of small distances in mechanical engineering and machining as well as most mechanical trades, along with other metrological instruments such as dial, vernier,...
s. The fungus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, and has also been collected from South America.
Taxonomy
The species was first described and illustrated as TremellaTremella
Tremella is a genus of fungi in the family Tremellaceae. All Tremella species are parasites of other fungi and most produce anamorphic yeast states. Basidiocarps , when produced, are gelatinous and are colloquially classed among the "jelly fungi". Over 100 species of Tremella are currently...
rufa by Nicolaus Joseph von Jacquin in 1778. Elias Magnus Fries
Elias Magnus Fries
-External links:*, Authors of fungal names, Mushroom, the Journal of Wild Mushrooming.*...
later (1828) called it Guepinia helvelloides in his Elenchus Fungorum, based on Augustin Pyramus de Candolle's Tremella helvelloides, both being names he sanctioned
Sanctioned name
In mycology, a sanctioned name is a name that was adopted in certain works of Christiaan Hendrik Persoon or Elias Magnus Fries, which are considered major points in fungal taxonomy.-Definition and effects:...
. This has made Tremella rufa and all names based on it unavailable for use, as they are conserved. Later, Lucien Quélet
Lucien Quélet
thumb|Lucien QuéletLucien Quélet was a French mycologist and naturalist who discovered several species and was the founder of the Société mycologique de France, a society devoted to mycological studies....
erected a separate monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
genus Phlogiotis for Jacquin's species, whereas Julius Oscar Brefeld
Julius Oscar Brefeld
Julius Oscar Brefeld , usually just Oscar Brefeld, was a German botanist and mycologist.-Biography:Brefeld was a native of Telgte. He studied pharmacy in Heidelberg and Berlin, and afterwards became an assistant to Anton de Bary at the University of Halle...
placed it (as Gyrocephalus rufa) in Persoon's small genus Gyrocephalus (rejected name for Gyromitra
Gyromitra
Gyromitra is a genus of ascomycete mushrooms found in the northern hemisphere. The most famous member is the controversial false morel ...
). The proper name for the fungus was debated for some time, as the name Guepinia is a homonym
Homonym
In linguistics, a homonym is, in the strict sense, one of a group of words that often but not necessarily share the same spelling and the same pronunciation but have different meanings...
(pointed out by Fries in 1828), because it had been used by Toussaint Bastard in 1812 for a genus of flowering plants in the Cruciferae family. To further complicate matters, the generic name Teesdalia, originally considered to have priority
Principle of Priority
thumb|270px|Boa manditraIn zoology, the scientific study of animals, the Principle of Priority is one of the guiding principles of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, defined by Article 23....
over the name Guepinia for the plant genus, was later determined to have been validly published after Guepinia, rendering Teesdalia an illegitimate name. In 1982, changes in the International Code for Botanical Nomenclature gave protected status to all names adopted by Fries in the Elenchus Fungorum, and established Guepinia as the correct genus name.
Guepinia is variously classified
Biological classification
Biological classification, or scientific classification in biology, is a method to group and categorize organisms by biological type, such as genus or species. Biological classification is part of scientific taxonomy....
in the Auriculariales
Auriculariales
The Auriculariales are an order of fungi in the class Agaricomycetes. Species within the order were formerly referred to the "heterobasidiomycetes" or "jelly fungi", since many have gelatinous basidiocarps that produce spores on septate basidia...
order, with uncertain familial position (incertae sedis
Incertae sedis
, is a term used to define a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Uncertainty at specific taxonomic levels is attributed by , , and similar terms.-Examples:*The fossil plant Paradinandra suecica could not be assigned to any...
), or as part of the Exidiaceae family.
The genus is named after French mycologist Jean-Pierre Guépin (1779–1858). The mushroom is commonly
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
known as the "red jelly fungus", or "apricot jelly".
Description
The fruit bodiesBasidiocarp
In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome or basidioma , is the sporocarp of a basidiomycete, the multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are characteristic of the hymenomycetes; rusts and smuts do not produce such structures...
of Guepinia helvelloides grow singly or in small clumps. Although they can appear to be growing in the soil, their mycelium
Mycelium
thumb|right|Fungal myceliaMycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. The mass of hyphae is sometimes called shiro, especially within the fairy ring fungi. Fungal colonies composed of mycelia are found in soil and on or within many other...
lives in buried wood. They are 4 – tall and 3 – wide, spoon- or tongue-shaped, and twisted like a cornet or horn so that they look like a slender funnel, cut out on one side and often with a wavy margin. The fruit bodies are flexible, 2 – thick, and smooth on the outer side (which is covered with a fertile, spore-bearing hymenium
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 cells develop into sterile cells called cystidia or...
). In maturity they develop wrinkles or veins. They are usually attenuated on the underside into a cylindrical or depressed stem that is up to 5 cm (2 in) high and about 1.5 cm (0.590551181102362 in) thick. The stem is normally covered with a white tomentum at the base. The upper side (inside) of the fruit body is usually quite sterile or with a few isolated basidia and is slightly verrucose as a result of the densely crowded protruding ends of the hypha
Hypha
A hypha is a long, branching filamentous structure of a fungus, and also of unrelated Actinobacteria. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium; yeasts are unicellular fungi that do not grow as hyphae.-Structure:A hypha consists of one or...
e. The sterile and fertile surfaces of the fruit body are almost the same color, transparent reddish-orange to flesh pink or flesh orange, at other times more purplish-red. The fruit bodies usually develop a slightly brownish tinge when they are old. The underside is usually slightly more vividly colored than the upper side. The flesh
Trama (mycology)
In mycology trama is a term for the inner, fleshy portion of a mushroom's basidiocarp, or fruit body. It is distinct from the outer layer of tissue, known as the pileipellis or cuticle, and from the spore-bearing tissue layer known as the hymenium....
is gelatinous, softly so in the upper part of the fruit body and with a more cartilage-like consistency in the stem. It has a nondescript odor, and a watery, insignificant taste.
The hymenium
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 cells develop into sterile cells called cystidia or...
is developed on the under (outer) side of the fruit body. The basidia (spore-bearing cells) consist of a globular part (the hypobasidia) to which inflated or elongated epibasidia are attached. In Guepinia, the hypobasidia are egg-shaped to ellipsoid, measuring 12–16 by 9–12 μm
Micrometre
A micrometer , is by definition 1×10-6 of a meter .In plain English, it means one-millionth of a meter . Its unit symbol in the International System of Units is μm...
, and attached to fibril-like epibasidia that are 20–45 by 3–4 μm. The spore deposit
Spore print
thumb|300px|right|Making a spore print of the mushroom Volvariella volvacea shown in composite: mushroom cap laid on white and dark paper; cap removed after 24 hours showing pinkish-tan spore print...
is white, while the spores are 9–11 by 5–6 μm, hyaline
Hyaline
The term hyaline denotes a substance with a glass-like appearance.-Histopathology:In histopathological medical usage, a hyaline substance appears glassy and pink after being stained with haematoxylin and eosin — usually it is an acellular, proteinaceous material...
(translucent), cylindrical to elongated ellipsoid in shape, and have a large oil drop.
Edibility
Guepinia helveloides is an edibleEdible mushroom
Edible mushrooms are the fleshy and edible fruiting bodies of several species of fungi. Mushrooms belong to the macrofungi, because their fruiting structures are large enough to be seen with the naked eye. They can appear either below ground or above ground where they may be picked by hand...
, but bland, fungus. Older specimens are usually tough and indigestible. It can be used raw in salads, for pickling
Pickling
Pickling, also known as brining or corning is the process of preserving food by anaerobic fermentation in brine to produce lactic acid, or marinating and storing it in an acid solution, usually vinegar . The resulting food is called a pickle. This procedure gives the food a salty or sour taste...
in vinegar and also for preserving in sugar like candied fruit
Candied fruit
Candied fruit, also known as crystallized fruit or Glacé fruit, has been around since the 14th century. Whole fruit, smaller pieces of fruit, or pieces of peel, are placed in heated sugar syrup, which absorbs the moisture from within the fruit and eventually preserves it...
. One source reports using it to prepare a wine by fermenting
Fermentation (wine)
The process of fermentation in wine turns grape juice into an alcoholic beverage. During fermentation, yeast interact with sugars in the juice to create ethanol, commonly known as ethyl alcohol, and carbon dioxide...
with wine yeast.
Similar species
Guepinia helveloides has a rather unique appearance, and is not likely to be mistaken for other fungi. However, the red chanterelleChanterelle
Cantharellus cibarius, commonly known as the chanterelle, golden chanterelle or girolle, is a fungus. It is probably the best known species of the genus Cantharellus, if not the entire family of Cantharellaceae. It is orange or yellow, meaty and funnel-shaped...
species Cantharellus cinnabarinus
Cantharellus cinnabarinus
Cantharellus cinnabarinus is a fungus native to eastern North America. It is a member of the genus Cantharellus along with other chanterelles. It is named after its red color, which is imparted by the carotenoid canthaxanthin. It is edible, fruiting in association with hardwood trees in the...
is superficially similar; unlike G. helvelloides, however, it does not have a rubbery and gelatinous texture, and its undersurface is wrinkled, not smooth.
Habitat and distribution
Guepinia helveloides is saprobic, deriving nutrients by breaking down organic matter. The fruit bodies of G. helveloides typically grow solitarily or in small tufts on soil, usually in association with buried rotting wood. Although the fruit bodies sometimes appear in the spring, they are more commonly found in the summer and autumn months. In North America, it is associated with coniferous forests. It is also found throughout temperateTemperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
North America, from Canada to Mexico. Europe, Iran, and Turkey. It is also known from Brazil and Puerto Rico. The fungus has also been collected from the Qinling
Qinling Mountains
The Qin Mountains are a major east-west mountain range in southern Shaanxi province, China. The mountains provide a natural boundary between the North and South of the country, and support a huge variety of plant and wildlife, some of which is found nowhere else on Earth.To the north is the...
region of China.