Lysurus mokusin
Encyclopedia
Lysurus mokusin, commonly known as the lantern stinkhorn, the small lizard's claw, or the ribbed lizard claw, is a saprobic species of fungus
in the family Phallaceae. The fruit body
consists of a reddish, cylindrical fluted stipe
that is capped with several "arms". The arms can approach or even close in on each other to form a spire
. The gleba
—an olive-green slimy spore
mass—is carried on the outer surface of the arms. The fruit body
, which has an odor comparable to "fresh dog feces", "rotting flesh", or "sewage" when mature, is edible
in its immature "egg" stage. The fungus is native to Asia, and is also found in Australia, Europe and North America, where it is probably an introduced species
. It has been used medicinally
in China as an ulcer
remedy.
in the publication Novi Commentarii Academiae Scientiarum Imperialis Petropolitanae (New memoirs of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg) (1775), where he reported finding it near Peking (now Beijing). This finding represents the earliest published scientific record of a fungus from China. Cibot's original name
for the lantern stinkhorn, Phallus mokusin, was sanctioned
by Christian Hendrik Persoon
in his 1801 Synopsis Methodica Fungorum. In 1823, Elias Magnus Fries
transferred it to the genus Lysurus
in his Systema Mycologicum
. L. mokusin is the type species
of the genus Lysurus.
In 1938, Y. Kobayasi reported the form
L. mokusin f. sinensis, which he said differed from the main species in having a head that was more angular and conical at the top; the form sinensis was also reported in Korea in 1995. Some authors have attempted to define forms of L. mokusin as new species based on the degree of separation of the apical arms. For example, to contrast with his concept of Lysurus in which the arms were either free or slightly fused, the genus Lloydia was created by Chow in 1935 to contain species in which the tips of the arms were fused. As a result of various differing interpretations of the limits of L. mokusin, and the desire of some authors to define new species based on perceived differences, the fungus has acquired a lengthy list of synonyms
over the years.
L. mokusin is commonly
known as the "lantern stinkhorn", the "small lizard's claw", or the "ribbed lizard claw".
Lysuris mokusin has been included in a large-scale phylogenetic analysis of Gomphoid
and Phalloid
fungi published in 2006, and was shown to form a clade
with Simblum sphaerocephalum, Lysurus borealis, and Protubera clathroidea.
Immature fruit bodies of L. mokusin are white, gelatinous "eggs" measuring 1 – in diameter, and are attached to the ground by thickened strands of mycelium
called rhizomorph
s. As the fungus matures, the egg ruptures as the fruit body rapidly expands, leaving volval
remnants behind at the base. The stipe
of the hollow, spongy mature fruiting body has dimensions of 10 – by 1.5 –, and ranges in color from white to pink to red, with 4–6 distinct deeply grooved sides divided lengthwise by ribs. The basis of distinction between L. mokusin and other species of Lysurus is the angular form of its stipe. The sides branch out into 4–6 arms that are fused together at the tip to form a pointed apex, resembling a spire
. As the mushroom matures, the arms may spread apart. The outer surface of the arms is coated by a brownish, slimy, foul-smelling spore mass called the gleba
; its fetid odor helps it attract flies and other insects to assist in spore dispersal. The odor has been compared to "fresh dog feces", "rotting flesh" or sewage.
The spore
s are cylindrical in shape, smooth, thin-walled, and hyaline
(translucent), with dimensions of 4–6 by 2–2.5 µm
. Scanning electron microscopy reveals that one end of the spores has a hilar
scar—an indentation in the spore wall that results during its separation from the sterigma
of the basidium. The basidia (spore-bearing cells) are usually eight-spored, and the gleba composed of chains of roughly spherical, fusiform, ellipsoid to broadly club-shaped cells that are either 6.5–7.4 by 2.8–5.6 µm or 37.1–46.3 by 18–28 µm and also mixed with filamentous cells 2.3–4.5 µm wide. The hypha
e of L. mokusin have clamp connection
s.
when still in the immature "egg" stage, and is thought to be a delicacy in China. When mature, its foul odor would deter most individuals from attempting consumption. The fungus has been used medicinally in China as a remedy for ulcer
s.
, and wood chip mulch used in landscaping
, and compost
. Documented sightings of L. mokusin include Australasia
, the Canary Islands
, Korea
, Japan
, China (Fujian Province), and the Bonin Islands. The species was unknown in Europe until it was reported in Italy in 1979; it is considered an alien species in that continent. In the United States, it has been collected from the states of California
, Texas
, and Washington, D.C..
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 family Phallaceae. The fruit body
Basidiocarp
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...
consists of a reddish, cylindrical fluted stipe
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...
that is capped with several "arms". The arms can approach or even close in on each other to form a spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
. The gleba
Gleba
Gleba is the fleshy spore-bearing inner mass of fungi such as the puffball or stinkhorn.The gleba is a solid mass of spores, generated within an enclosed area within the sporocarp. The continuous maturity of the sporogenous cells leave the spores behind as a powdery mass that can be easily blown away...
—an olive-green slimy 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...
mass—is carried on the outer surface of the arms. The fruit body
Basidiocarp
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...
, which has an odor comparable to "fresh dog feces", "rotting flesh", or "sewage" when mature, 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...
in its immature "egg" stage. The fungus is native to Asia, and is also found in Australia, Europe and North America, where it is probably an introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
. It has been used medicinally
Traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage , exercise , and dietary therapy...
in China as an ulcer
Peptic ulcer
A peptic ulcer, also known as PUD or peptic ulcer disease, is the most common ulcer of an area of the gastrointestinal tract that is usually acidic and thus extremely painful. It is defined as mucosal erosions equal to or greater than 0.5 cm...
remedy.
History, taxonomy, and phylogeny
The species was first described by the Catholic Priest and missionary Pierre-Martial CibotPierre-Martial Cibot
Pierre-Martial Cibot was a French Jesuit missionary to China.-Life:...
in the publication Novi Commentarii Academiae Scientiarum Imperialis Petropolitanae (New memoirs of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg) (1775), where he reported finding it near Peking (now Beijing). This finding represents the earliest published scientific record of a fungus from China. Cibot's original name
Basionym
Basionym is a term used in botany, regulated by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature...
for the lantern stinkhorn, Phallus mokusin, was 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:...
by Christian Hendrik Persoon
Christian Hendrik Persoon
Christiaan Hendrik Persoon was a mycologist who made additions to Linnaeus' mushroom taxonomy.-Early life:...
in his 1801 Synopsis Methodica Fungorum. In 1823, Elias Magnus Fries
Elias Magnus Fries
-External links:*, Authors of fungal names, Mushroom, the Journal of Wild Mushrooming.*...
transferred it to the genus Lysurus
Lysurus (fungus)
Lysurus is a genus of fungi in the Phallaceae, a family known collectively as the stinkhorn fungi. The species have a widespread distribution, but are specially prevalent in tropical areas. The fruit bodies of Lysurus fungi are characterized by having short, thick arms which are upright, and may...
in his Systema Mycologicum
Systema Mycologicum
Systema Mycologicum is a systematic classification of fungi drawn up in 1821 by the Swedish mycologist and botanist Elias Fries. It took 11 years to complete....
. L. mokusin is the type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
of the genus Lysurus.
In 1938, Y. Kobayasi reported the form
Form (botany)
In botanical nomenclature, a form is one of the "secondary" taxonomic ranks, below that of variety, which in turn is below that of species; it is an infraspecific taxon...
L. mokusin f. sinensis, which he said differed from the main species in having a head that was more angular and conical at the top; the form sinensis was also reported in Korea in 1995. Some authors have attempted to define forms of L. mokusin as new species based on the degree of separation of the apical arms. For example, to contrast with his concept of Lysurus in which the arms were either free or slightly fused, the genus Lloydia was created by Chow in 1935 to contain species in which the tips of the arms were fused. As a result of various differing interpretations of the limits of L. mokusin, and the desire of some authors to define new species based on perceived differences, the fungus has acquired a lengthy list of synonyms
Synonym (taxonomy)
In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...
over the years.
L. mokusin 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 "lantern stinkhorn", the "small lizard's claw", or the "ribbed lizard claw".
Lysuris mokusin has been included in a large-scale phylogenetic analysis of Gomphoid
Gomphales
The Gomphales are an order of basidiomycete fungi. Some or all families belonging to Gomphales have been sometimes included in the order Phallales ,...
and Phalloid
Phallales
The Phallales are an order of fungi that is more or less synonymous with the gomphoid-phalloid clade. The order contains two families, the Claustulaceae and the Phallaceae, which collectively contain 26 genera and 88 species.-External links:...
fungi published in 2006, and was shown to form a clade
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
with Simblum sphaerocephalum, Lysurus borealis, and Protubera clathroidea.
Description
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...
called rhizomorph
Mycelial cord
Mycelial cords are linear aggregations of parallel-oriented hyphae. The mature cords are composed of wide, empty vessel hyphae surrounded by narrower sheathing hyphae...
s. As the fungus matures, the egg ruptures as the fruit body rapidly expands, leaving volval
Volva (mycology)
The volva is a mycological term to describe a cup-like structure at the base of a mushroom that is a remnant of the universal veil. This macrofeature is important in wild mushroom identification due to it being an easily observed, taxonomically significant feature which frequently signifies a...
remnants behind at the base. The stipe
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...
of the hollow, spongy mature fruiting body has dimensions of 10 – by 1.5 –, and ranges in color from white to pink to red, with 4–6 distinct deeply grooved sides divided lengthwise by ribs. The basis of distinction between L. mokusin and other species of Lysurus is the angular form of its stipe. The sides branch out into 4–6 arms that are fused together at the tip to form a pointed apex, resembling a spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
. As the mushroom matures, the arms may spread apart. The outer surface of the arms is coated by a brownish, slimy, foul-smelling spore mass called the gleba
Gleba
Gleba is the fleshy spore-bearing inner mass of fungi such as the puffball or stinkhorn.The gleba is a solid mass of spores, generated within an enclosed area within the sporocarp. The continuous maturity of the sporogenous cells leave the spores behind as a powdery mass that can be easily blown away...
; its fetid odor helps it attract flies and other insects to assist in spore dispersal. The odor has been compared to "fresh dog feces", "rotting flesh" or sewage.
The 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 are cylindrical in shape, smooth, thin-walled, and 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), with dimensions of 4–6 by 2–2.5 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...
. Scanning electron microscopy reveals that one end of the spores has a hilar
Hilum (biology)
In botany, the hilum is a scar or mark left on a seed coat by the former attachment to the ovary wall or to the funiculus...
scar—an indentation in the spore wall that results during its separation from the sterigma
Sterigma
thumb|right|The sterigmata is the slender extension that connects the spore to the basidia .A sterigma is an extension of the basidium consisting of a basal filamentous part and a slender projection with a spore at the tip...
of the basidium. The basidia (spore-bearing cells) are usually eight-spored, and the gleba composed of chains of roughly spherical, fusiform, ellipsoid to broadly club-shaped cells that are either 6.5–7.4 by 2.8–5.6 µm or 37.1–46.3 by 18–28 µm and also mixed with filamentous cells 2.3–4.5 µm wide. 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 of L. mokusin have clamp connection
Clamp connection
A clamp connection is a structure formed by growing hyphal cells of certain fungi. It is created to ensure each septum, or segment of hypha separated by crossed walls, receives a set of differing nuclei, which are obtained through mating of hyphae of differing sexual types...
s.
Similar species
Lysurus cruciatus is similar is appearance to L. mokusin, but has a cylindrical stem without any flutings at the tip. Lysurus borealis is also similar, but its stipe is not fluted, and without the angles present in L. mokusin.Edibility and other uses
This species is considered to be 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...
when still in the immature "egg" stage, and is thought to be a delicacy in China. When mature, its foul odor would deter most individuals from attempting consumption. The fungus has been used medicinally in China as a remedy for ulcer
Peptic ulcer
A peptic ulcer, also known as PUD or peptic ulcer disease, is the most common ulcer of an area of the gastrointestinal tract that is usually acidic and thus extremely painful. It is defined as mucosal erosions equal to or greater than 0.5 cm...
s.
Habitat and distribution
Lysurus mokusin is saprobic, and grows solitarily or in small groups in forest litterForest floor
The forest floor, also called detritus, duff and the O horizon, is one of the most distinctive features of a forest ecosystem. It mainly consists of shed vegetative parts, such as leaves, branches, bark, and stems, existing in various stages of decomposition above the soil surface...
, and wood chip mulch used in landscaping
Landscaping
Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including:# living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly referred to as gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal of creating a beautiful environment within the landscape.#...
, and compost
Compost
Compost is organic matter that has been decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment. Compost is a key ingredient in organic farming. At its most essential, the process of composting requires simply piling up waste outdoors and waiting for the materials to break down from anywhere...
. Documented sightings of L. mokusin include Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
, the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, China (Fujian Province), and the Bonin Islands. The species was unknown in Europe until it was reported in Italy in 1979; it is considered an alien species in that continent. In the United States, it has been collected from the states of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and Washington, D.C..