Calathella
Encyclopedia
Calathella is a genus
of fungi in the Marasmiaceae
family of mushroom
s. According to the Dictionary of the Fungi (10th edition, 2008), the genus contains nine species found in Europe and North America. The genus was circumscribed by the English mycologist Derek Reid
in 1964.
fruit bodies. The fruit bodies are characterized by encrusted surface hairs with rounded tips, urniform basidia (swollen at the base), and spore
s that range in shape from oblong-elliptical to cylindrical.
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 fungi in the Marasmiaceae
Marasmiaceae
The Marasmiaceae are a family of basidiomycete fungi which have white spores. They mostly have a tough stem and the capability of shrivelling up during a dry period and later recovering. The widely consumed edible fungus Lentinula edodes, the Shiitake mushroom, is a member of this family...
family of mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
s. According to the Dictionary of the Fungi (10th edition, 2008), the genus contains nine species found in Europe and North America. The genus was circumscribed by the English mycologist Derek Reid
Derek Reid
Derek Agutter Reid was an English mycologist.-Background and education:Reid was born in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, the son of a picture-framer. He was educated at Cedars School and the University of Hull, where he studied geology and botany...
in 1964.
Description
The genus contains fungi that produce small tubular or cup-shaped cyphelloidCyphelloid fungi
The cyphelloid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota that have disc-, tube-, or cup-shaped basidiocarps , resembling species of discomycetes in the Ascomycota...
fruit bodies. The fruit bodies are characterized by encrusted surface hairs with rounded tips, urniform basidia (swollen at the base), and 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 that range in shape from oblong-elliptical to cylindrical.