Cyptotrama asprata
Encyclopedia
Cyptotrama asprata commonly known as the Golden-scruffy Collybia, is a saprobic species 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...

 in the Physalacriaceae
Physalacriaceae
Physalacriaceae are a family of fungi in the order Agaricales. Species in the genus have a widespread distribution, but most are found in the tropics, particularly in South-East Asia and Australasia. Molecular studies suggested that Physalacria, formerly the sole genus in this family, is related to...

 family. Widely distributed in tropical regions of the world, it is characterized by the bright orange to yellow cap that in young specimens is covered with tufts of fibril
Fibril
Fibril is a fine fiber approximately 1 nm in diameter.Cytoplasmic fibrils are observed on the protoplasmic cylinders found in most spirochetal species, although no function of the cytoplasmic fibrils has been ascribed....

s resembling small spikes. This fungus has had a varied taxonomical history, having been placed in fourteen genera before finally settling in Cyptotrama
Cyptotrama
Cyptotrama is a genus of mushrooms in the Physalacriaceae family.-Species:*Cyptotrama asprata Redhead & Ginns *Cyptotrama chrysopeplum Cyptotrama is a genus of mushrooms in the Physalacriaceae family.-Species:*Cyptotrama asprata (Berk.) Redhead & Ginns (1980)*Cyptotrama chrysopeplum Cyptotrama is...

. This species is differentiated from several other similar members of genus Cyptotrama by variations in 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...

 color, 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...

 size and shape.

History

This species was first described from Ceylon by English naturalist Miles Joseph Berkeley
Miles Joseph Berkeley
Miles Joseph Berkeley was an English cryptogamist and clergyman, and one of the founders of the science of plant pathology....

 in 1847; soon after (1852), specimens were collected from South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

 USA. Later, the fungus was described under a variety of names: Lentinus chrysopeplus from Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

; Agaricus sabriusculus and Agaricus lacunosa from New York; Collybia lacunosa from Michigan; and Omphalia scabriuscula in Connecticut. As Canadian mycologists Redhead and Ginns explain in a 1980 article on the species, since its original 1847 description, C. asprata has been given 28 names, and placed in 14 different genera
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...

.

Description

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...

 is 0.6 to 2.7 cm (0.236220472440945 to 1.1 in) in diameter, convex to cushion-shaped. The cap surface is dry, and younger specimens are covered with characteristic spikes; as the spikes break up with age, they tend to look more hairy or woolly. Older specimens typically have the surface features worn off. The cap margin tends to be rolled inwards when young, gradually becoming straight with maturity. The color of the cap is bright or pale yellow, increasing in intensity towards the center of the cap. C. asprata has a web-like ring that soon disappears.
The gills, pale yellow to white in color, are distantly spaced and have an adnate (squarely attached) or short decurrent (running down the length) attachement to the stem; they feel greasy when dried and crushed. The stem
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...

 is 1 to 6.7 cm (0.393700787401575 to 2.6 in) long by 0.2 to 0.4 cm (0.078740157480315 to 0.15748031496063 in) thick at the stem apex; the stem is slightly thicker towards the base, and may be covered with hyphae that appear woolly (flocculose) or hairy (fibrillose). The surface of the stem may also be scaly – especially towards the base – or it may be covered with very small particles (granular). 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....

 of this mushroom is white or pale yellow, with no distinctive taste or odor. The spore print
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. Edibility is unknown for this fungus.

Microscopic features

Spores are thin-walled, smooth, and ellipsoidal or oval in shape. Viewed with a microscope
Microscope
A microscope is an instrument used to see objects that are too small for the naked eye. The science of investigating small objects using such an instrument is called microscopy...

, they appear translucent (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...

), and stain red or blue with Melzer's reagent
Melzer's Reagent
Melzer's reagent is a chemical reagent used by mycologists to assist with the identification of fungi.-Composition:...

 (in amyloid
Amyloid
Amyloids are insoluble fibrous protein aggregates sharing specific structural traits. Abnormal accumulation of amyloid in organs may lead to amyloidosis, and may play a role in various neurodegenerative diseases.-Definition:...

). Their dimensions are typically 7–10 by 5–7 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...

; the spores contain a single large oil droplet. The spore-bearing cells, the basidia, are club-shaped, two- to four-spored, and 25–30 by 5–7 µm. The presence of sterile cells called pleurocystidia (large cells found on the gill face in some mushrooms) is uncommon; specimens may contain few or abundant cheilocystidia (large sterile cells found on the gill edge) that are club-shaped, thin-walled and 39–87.5 by 8.5–16 µm in size.

Habitat and distribution

Cyptotrama asprata is a saprobic fungus, and grows on the decaying wood of deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...

 and coniferous trees. Host species include White Fir (Abies concolor), Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) and other Maple (Acer) species, Grey Alder (Alnus oblongifolia
Alnus oblongifolia
Alnus oblongifolia is a large alder, birch-family tree up to 72ft, from the southwestern United States and northern Sonora Mexico. It grows across Arizona into western New Mexico mountain ranges...

), beech (Fagus
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...

) species, spruce (Picea) species, Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) and other pine (Pinus) species, poplar (Populus) and oak (Quercus) species. In temperate
Temperate
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, specimens are typically collected between July through September.

The species has a pantropical
Pantropical
In biogeography, a pantropical distribution one which covers tropical regions of all of the major continents, i.e. in Africa, in Asia and in the Americas. Examples include the plant genera Acacia and Bacopa....

 distribution, and is widely distributed in tropical regions of the world. It has been collected from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, southeastern Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, 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...

, and the Russian Far East
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...

. It is absent from Europe and Northwestern North America.

Similar species

Many other members of genus Cyptotrama
Cyptotrama
Cyptotrama is a genus of mushrooms in the Physalacriaceae family.-Species:*Cyptotrama asprata Redhead & Ginns *Cyptotrama chrysopeplum Cyptotrama is a genus of mushrooms in the Physalacriaceae family.-Species:*Cyptotrama asprata (Berk.) Redhead & Ginns (1980)*Cyptotrama chrysopeplum Cyptotrama is...

are similar in appearance and differ from C. asprata by only one or two readily observable features. For example, C. granulosa is bright yellowish-brown (rather than bright or pale yellow in C. asprata); C. lachnocephala is ochre
Ochre
Ochre is the term for both a golden-yellow or light yellow brown color and for a form of earth pigment which produces the color. The pigment can also be used to create a reddish tint known as "red ochre". The more rarely used terms "purple ochre" and "brown ochre" also exist for variant hues...

-colored; C. deseynesiana is cream-colored with brown scales; C. verruculosa has a "copper-rust-brown" cap; C. costesii has olive-colored pigments. Species may also be distinguished by differences in spore size and shape, although a considerable size range has been noted for C. asprata spores.
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