Punctulariaceae
| Punctulariaceae | |
|---|---|
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| Punctularia strigoso-zonata | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Division: | |
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| Order: | |
| Family: | Punctulariaceae Donk (1964)
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| Type genus | |
| Punctularia Pat. (1895)
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| Genera | |
The Punctulariaceae are a family of fungi in the order Corticiales. The family in its current sense is based on molecular research and contains just three genera of corticioid fungi.
Taxonomy[edit]
History[edit]
The family was introduced by Dutch mycologist Marinus Anton Donk in 1964 to accommodate Punctularia, a genus of corticioid fungi whose species are distinguished by forming effused basidiocarps (fruit bodies) with the hymenium (spore-bearing surface) in patches, rather than evenly distributed over the surface. Donk placed the family within the Aphyllophorales.[1] The family was not, however, widely adopted, most mycological texts preferring to place all corticioid fungi (including Punctularia species) in the Corticiaceae.
Current status[edit]
Molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, has resurrected and redefined the Punctulariaceae for a small clade of corticioid fungi distinct from the Corticiaceae and Vuilleminiaceae. At present, the family only contains a dozen or so species of the genera Dendrocorticium, Punctularia, and Punctulariopsis.[2]
Distribution and habitat[edit]
All fungi within the family are wood-rotting saprotrophs, growing on dead attached branches of trees and shrubs. Distribution is cosmopolitan.[2]
References[edit]
- ^ Donk MA. (1964). "A conspectus of the families of Aphyllophorales". Persoonia. 3: 199–324.
- ^ a b Ghobad-Nejhad M, Nilsson RH, Hallenberg N (2010). "Phylogeny and taxonomy of the genus Vuilleminia (Basidiomycota) based on molecular and morphological evidence, with new insights into Corticiales". Taxon. 59 (5): 1519–1534. doi:10.1002/tax.595016. (subscription required)