Typhula quisquiliaris
Encyclopedia
Typhula quisquiliaris, commonly known
as the bracken club, is a species of club fungus in the family Typhulaceae
. It produces small, white fruit bodies
up to 9 millimetre (0.354330708661417 in) in height, each with a single distinct "head" and "stem". The head is fertile, while the stem attaches to a sclerotium
embedded in the substrate
. The fruit bodies grow from dead wood, and strongly favours bracken
, where the species feeds saprotrophically. Though T. quisquiliaris was described under a different name by James Sowerby
in 1803, the specific name quisquiliaris was sanctioned
in 1821 by Elias Magnus Fries
, and the species was moved to the genus Typhula
, which resulted in its currently accepted binomial name by Paul Christoph Hennings
in 1896. The species has been recorded in Europe and north Africa.
in 1803 as Clavaria
obtusa. However, this name was found to be illegitimate, as it had already been given to a different species by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon in 1797. The species was given its sanctioned name
several years later by Elias Magnus Fries
, in his 1821 Systema Mycologicum
. Fries named the species Pistillaria
quisquiliaris, having previously (in 1818) named it Clavaria quisquiliaris. The specific name quisquiliaris is from the Latin meaning "pertaining to refuse". In the same year, Samuel Frederick Gray
reclassified Sowerby's Clavaria obtusa, naming it Geoglossum obtusum. Fries's name was taken up as the valid one, however, and in 1896, Paul Christoph Hennings
transferred the species to Typhula
, giving the species the name by which it is known today. However, the name Pistillaria quisquiliaris was sometimes used into the 20th century. For instance, Carleton Rea
used it in a 1922 publication. The species is commonly known
as the bracken club.
in the form of clubs
. Each fruit body consists of a single distinct "stem" and "head", and measures up to 7 mm (0.275590551181102 in) in height. The surface of the head is smooth and white, and measures 1.5 to 4 mm (0.0590551181102362 to 0.15748031496063 in) by 1 to 2.5 mm (0.0393700787401575 to 0.0984251968503937 in). The rounded stem is infertile
, and of a similar colour to the head. However, it has a very fine downy covering, and is somewhat translucent. The stem measures from 0.3 to 0.4 mm (0.0118110236220472 to 0.015748031496063 in) in width. The stem attaches to sclerotium
which is buried into the branch from which the fruit body grows.
s (μm). The spores are white, and contain small granules
. The spores are borne on basidia which measure 50 to 70 by 7 to 8 μm, with four spores on each basidium. The downy covering of the stem is made up of thick-walled hairs, each measuring 15 to 60 by 3 to 7 μm, though they are often swollen towards the base. The sclerotium measures from 1.5 to 3 by 0.5 μm, and is a pale yellow colour. Clamp connections are present in the hyphae.
. The species favours bracken
, especially Pteridium aquilinum
, but the colonisation of dead matter from other plants is not unknown. Upon these substrates, it feeds as a saprotroph, breaking down the dead organic matter in order to sustain itself. The species has been recorded in Europe and northern Africa. In Europe, the fruit bodies can be encountered from April to December.
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...
as the bracken club, is a species of club fungus in the family Typhulaceae
Typhulaceae
The Typhulaceae are a family of fungi in the Agaricales order. The family contains 6 genera and 229 species....
. It produces small, white fruit bodies
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...
up to 9 millimetre (0.354330708661417 in) in height, each with a single distinct "head" and "stem". The head is fertile, while the stem attaches to a sclerotium
Sclerotium
A sclerotium is a compact mass of hardened fungal mycelium containing food reserves. One role of sclerotia is to survive environmental extremes. In some higher fungi such as ergot, sclerotia become detached and remain dormant until a favorable opportunity for growth. Other fungi that produce...
embedded in the substrate
Substrate (biology)
In biology a substrate is the surface a plant or animal lives upon and grows on. A substrate can include biotic or abiotic materials and animals. For example, encrusting algae that lives on a rock can be substrate for another animal that lives on top of the algae. See also substrate .-External...
. The fruit bodies grow from dead wood, and strongly favours bracken
Bracken
Bracken are several species of large, coarse ferns of the genus Pteridium. Ferns are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells . Brackens are in the family Dennstaedtiaceae, which are noted for their large, highly...
, where the species feeds saprotrophically. Though T. quisquiliaris was described under a different name by James Sowerby
James Sowerby
James Sowerby was an English naturalist and illustrator. Contributions to published works, such as A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland or English Botany, include his detailed and appealing plates...
in 1803, the specific name quisquiliaris 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:...
in 1821 by Elias Magnus Fries
Elias Magnus Fries
-External links:*, Authors of fungal names, Mushroom, the Journal of Wild Mushrooming.*...
, and the species was moved to the genus Typhula
Typhula
Typhula is a genus of clavarioid fungi in the order Agaricales. Species of Typhula are saprotrophic, mostly decomposing leaves, twigs, and herbaceous material. Basidiocarps are club-shaped or narrowly cylindrical and are simple , often arising from sclerotia. The anamorphic genus Sclerotium is a...
, which resulted in its currently accepted binomial name by Paul Christoph Hennings
Paul Christoph Hennings
Paul Christoph Hennings was a German mycologist and herbarium curator. He discovered the study of cryptogams and mushrooms as a volunteer at the botanical garden. Although circumstances initially prevented him to study in that area, he later returned to natural sciences and eventually rose to a...
in 1896. The species has been recorded in Europe and north Africa.
Taxonomy
Typhula quisquiliaris was first described by James SowerbyJames Sowerby
James Sowerby was an English naturalist and illustrator. Contributions to published works, such as A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland or English Botany, include his detailed and appealing plates...
in 1803 as Clavaria
Clavaria
Clavaria is a genus of fungi in the family Clavariaceae. Species of Clavaria produce basidiocarps that are either cylindrical to club-shaped or branched and coral-like. They are often grouped with similar-looking species from other genera, when they are collectively known as the clavarioid fungi...
obtusa. However, this name was found to be illegitimate, as it had already been given to a different species by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon in 1797. The species was given its sanctioned name
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:...
several years later by Elias Magnus Fries
Elias Magnus Fries
-External links:*, Authors of fungal names, Mushroom, the Journal of Wild Mushrooming.*...
, in his 1821 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....
. Fries named the species Pistillaria
Pistillaria
Pistillaria is a genus of fungi in the Agaricales order. The genus has a widespread distribution in northern temperate areas, and contains about 50 species....
quisquiliaris, having previously (in 1818) named it Clavaria quisquiliaris. The specific name quisquiliaris is from the Latin meaning "pertaining to refuse". In the same year, Samuel Frederick Gray
Samuel Frederick Gray
Samuel Frederick Gray was a British botanist, mycologist, and pharmacologist. He was the father of the zoologists John Edward Gray and George Robert Gray.-Background:...
reclassified Sowerby's Clavaria obtusa, naming it Geoglossum obtusum. Fries's name was taken up as the valid one, however, and in 1896, Paul Christoph Hennings
Paul Christoph Hennings
Paul Christoph Hennings was a German mycologist and herbarium curator. He discovered the study of cryptogams and mushrooms as a volunteer at the botanical garden. Although circumstances initially prevented him to study in that area, he later returned to natural sciences and eventually rose to a...
transferred the species to Typhula
Typhula
Typhula is a genus of clavarioid fungi in the order Agaricales. Species of Typhula are saprotrophic, mostly decomposing leaves, twigs, and herbaceous material. Basidiocarps are club-shaped or narrowly cylindrical and are simple , often arising from sclerotia. The anamorphic genus Sclerotium is a...
, giving the species the name by which it is known today. However, the name Pistillaria quisquiliaris was sometimes used into the 20th century. For instance, Carleton Rea
Carleton Rea
Carleton Rea was an English mycologist, botanist, and naturalist.-Background and education:Carleton Rea was born in Worcester, the son of the City Coroner. He was educated at The King's School and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he studied law...
used it in a 1922 publication. The species is commonly known
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...
as the bracken club.
Description
Typhula quisquiliaris produces 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...
in the form of clubs
Clavarioid fungi
The clavarioid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota typically having erect, simple or branched basidiocarps that are formed on the ground, on decaying vegetation, or on dead wood. They are colloquially called club fungi and coral fungi...
. Each fruit body consists of a single distinct "stem" and "head", and measures up to 7 mm (0.275590551181102 in) in height. The surface of the head is smooth and white, and measures 1.5 to 4 mm (0.0590551181102362 to 0.15748031496063 in) by 1 to 2.5 mm (0.0393700787401575 to 0.0984251968503937 in). The rounded stem is infertile
Sterility (physiology)
Sterility is the physiological inability to effect sexual reproduction in a living thing, members of whose kind have been produced sexually. The term may be used in reference to* types of organism, such as the mule, a sterile hybrid;...
, and of a similar colour to the head. However, it has a very fine downy covering, and is somewhat translucent. The stem measures from 0.3 to 0.4 mm (0.0118110236220472 to 0.015748031496063 in) in width. The stem attaches to sclerotium
Sclerotium
A sclerotium is a compact mass of hardened fungal mycelium containing food reserves. One role of sclerotia is to survive environmental extremes. In some higher fungi such as ergot, sclerotia become detached and remain dormant until a favorable opportunity for growth. Other fungi that produce...
which is buried into the branch from which the fruit body grows.
Microscopic characteristics
Typhula quisquiliaris spores are narrowly ellipsoid, and measure from 9 to 14 by 4 to 5.5 micrometreMicrometre
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...
s (μm). The spores are white, and contain small granules
Granule (cell biology)
In cell biology, a granule is a small particle. It can be any structure barely visible by light microscopy. The term is most often used to describe a secretory vesicle.-Leukocytes:...
. The spores are borne on basidia which measure 50 to 70 by 7 to 8 μm, with four spores on each basidium. The downy covering of the stem is made up of thick-walled hairs, each measuring 15 to 60 by 3 to 7 μm, though they are often swollen towards the base. The sclerotium measures from 1.5 to 3 by 0.5 μm, and is a pale yellow colour. Clamp connections are present in the hyphae.
Habitat and distribution
Typhula quisquiliaris fruit bodies are typically found in rows, growing from plant detritusDetritus
Detritus is a biological term used to describe dead or waste organic material.Detritus may also refer to:* Detritus , a geological term used to describe the particles of rock produced by weathering...
. The species favours bracken
Bracken
Bracken are several species of large, coarse ferns of the genus Pteridium. Ferns are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells . Brackens are in the family Dennstaedtiaceae, which are noted for their large, highly...
, especially Pteridium aquilinum
Pteridium aquilinum
Pteridium aquilinum is a species of fern occurring in temperate and subtropical regions throughout much of the northern hemisphere....
, but the colonisation of dead matter from other plants is not unknown. Upon these substrates, it feeds as a saprotroph, breaking down the dead organic matter in order to sustain itself. The species has been recorded in Europe and northern Africa. In Europe, the fruit bodies can be encountered from April to December.