Marasmius funalis
Encyclopedia
Marasmius funalis is a species of Marasmiaceae
fungus known only from Japan. The species produces small mushrooms with reddish-brown caps
up to 6 millimetre (0.236220472440945 in) in diameter and dark-brown, threadlike stems
of up to 50 millimetres (2 in) in length. The species has a number of distinctive microscopic features, including very long cystidia on the stem, visible as bristles. Described in 2002 by Haruki Takahashi, the species grows on dead wood. The closest relative of M. funalis is M. liquidambari, known from Mexico and Papua New Guinea, and it is also similar in appearance to M. hudonii and Setulipes funaliformis, the latter of which was named after M. funalis.
by Haruki Takahashi, based on specimens collected in 2000. The specific name
, funalis, is Latin for "rope-like", and is in reference to the shape and character of the stem. Within the genus Marasmius
, the species has traits that suggest that it belongs in the section
Androsacei, and, within the section, it seems most closely related to M. liquidambari. The Japanese common name
for the species is .
s. Each mushroom has a convex (sometimes completely hemispherical) cap
of between 2 and 6 mm (0.078740157480315 and 0.236220472440945 in) in diameter. Unlike the caps of other mushrooms, it does not change shape to a flatter convex with age. The cap is fairly smooth, but can have small, parallel furrows towards the edge, which are arranged radially. The colour differs slightly, depending on the age of the mushroom. While younger specimens sport reddish-brown caps, they are a paler brown in older mushrooms. The cap's surface is dry and dull, and free from hair. The threadlike stem
attaches centrally to the cap, measures from 20 to 50 mm (0.78740157480315 to 2 in) long by 0.2 millimetre thick. It is cyclindrical, but may taper slightly, and is covered in short, white hairs. The base of the stem enters the substrate
, and there are no rhizomorphs visible. The majority of the stem is blackish-brown, but it is a lighter brown at the very top.
The white gills can be adnate or adnexed; that is, they can be attached to the stem by their whole depth, or only part of it. The individual gills are distantly spaced, with between 8 and 12 reaching the stem. Each gill is up to 0.5 mm (0.0196850393700787 in) thick, and the edges are even. There are sometimes lamellulae (short gills that do not reach the cap). There is a thin layer, up to 0.3 mm (0.0118110236220472 in) thick, of whitish flesh in the cap. It is tough, but it can be bent without breaking. The flesh has no smell or taste.
. The individual basidiospore
s are ellipsoidal, and measure 6.5 to 8 by 4 to 5 micrometre
s (μm). They have thin cell wall
s, and they are smooth and colourless. The spores are inamyloid, meaning that they do not stain when they come into contact with iodine
from Melzer's reagent
or Lugol's solution. The spores are borne on club-shaped basidia measuring 20 to 25 by 4.5 to 7 μm, with two spores per basidium. There are also club-shaped basidioles (under-developed basidia).
The edge of the gill is sterile, made up of a mass of cystidia (cheilocystidia). The club-shaped cheilocystidia measure from 10 to 25 by 7 to 12 μm, and sport multiple cylindrical appendages on their tips, measuring 1 to 7 by 1 to 1.5 μm. The cheilocystidia are colourless, with cell walls of variable thickness, and are inamyloid. There are no pleurocystidia (cystidia on the face of the gills). The caulocystidia (cystidia in the stem) measure 60 to 200 by 4 to 7 µm. They are cylindrical and erect, forming the visible bristles. The tip is either pointed or rounded, and the cell walls are smooth and colourless, up to 2 µm thick. They are dextrinoid, meaning they stain a reddish-brown when they come into contact with iodine from Melzer's reagent or Lugol's solution.
The pileipellis
, the top layer of hyphae in the cap, is a cutis. The cutis is made up of cylindrical hyphae between 2 and 5 µm thick. The inamyloid and thin-walled hyphae are covered in brown granule
s. The flesh in the cap is made up of cylindrical hyphae from 4 to 7 µm wide with thin cell walls. They are all generative hyphae, and run parallel to one another. They can be either inamyloid or only weakly dextrinoid. The flesh in the gills is basically the same as the flesh in the cap, but for the fact that it is completely inamyloid. The hyphae of the stipitipellis, the uppermost layer in the stem, also form a cutis. The cylindrical hyphae making up the cutis run parallel to one another, and measure from 2.5 to 4.5 µm in width, with walls up to 1 µm thick. They are encrusted with a brown pigment, and are dextrinoid. The flesh of the stem is made up of generative hyphae running lengthways (that is, up and down the stem). The cells are 5 to 8 µm wide, and are smooth and colourless; the cell walls up to 1 µm thick. They are dextrinoid. All M. funalis hyphae lack clamp connection
s.
species Setulipes funaliformis was named after M. funalis due to the morphological
similarities between the two. The species can be differentiated by the fact that the basidiospores of S. funalformis are slightly larger and narrower, measuring from 7 to 10 by 3.5 to 4.5 μm, and the caulocystidia of M. funalis are significantly longer.
and Machida, Tokyo
, Japan. Mushrooms grow in groups on dead plant matter, and have been recorded on Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) wood and leaf litter in woodland mostly made up of Chonowski's hornbeam (Carpinus tschonoskii) and bamboo-leaf oak
(Quercus myrsinifolia). The mushrooms can be encountered from May to July.
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...
fungus known only from Japan. The species produces small mushrooms with reddish-brown caps
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...
up to 6 millimetre (0.236220472440945 in) in diameter and dark-brown, threadlike stems
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 up to 50 millimetres (2 in) in length. The species has a number of distinctive microscopic features, including very long cystidia on the stem, visible as bristles. Described in 2002 by Haruki Takahashi, the species grows on dead wood. The closest relative of M. funalis is M. liquidambari, known from Mexico and Papua New Guinea, and it is also similar in appearance to M. hudonii and Setulipes funaliformis, the latter of which was named after M. funalis.
Taxonomy
Marasmius funalis was first described and named in a 2002 article in MycoscienceMycoscience
Mycoscience is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of basic and applied research on fungi, including lichens, yeasts, oomycetes, and slime moulds...
by Haruki Takahashi, based on specimens collected in 2000. The specific name
Botanical name
A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar and/or Group epithets must conform to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants...
, funalis, is Latin for "rope-like", and is in reference to the shape and character of the stem. Within the genus Marasmius
Marasmius
Marasmius is a genus of mushrooms, in the family Marasmiaceae. It contains about 500 species of agarics, of which a few, such as Marasmius oreades, are edible. However, most members of this genus are small, unimpressive brown mushrooms...
, the species has traits that suggest that it belongs in the section
Section (botany)
In botany, a section is a taxonomic rank below the genus, but above the species. The subgenus, if present, is higher than the section, and the rank of series, if present, is below the section. Sections are typically used to help organise very large genera, which may have hundreds of species...
Androsacei, and, within the section, it seems most closely related to M. liquidambari. The Japanese common name
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...
for the species is .
Description
Marasmius funalis produces fruit bodies in the form of mushroomMushroom
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. Each mushroom has a convex (sometimes completely hemispherical) 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...
of between 2 and 6 mm (0.078740157480315 and 0.236220472440945 in) in diameter. Unlike the caps of other mushrooms, it does not change shape to a flatter convex with age. The cap is fairly smooth, but can have small, parallel furrows towards the edge, which are arranged radially. The colour differs slightly, depending on the age of the mushroom. While younger specimens sport reddish-brown caps, they are a paler brown in older mushrooms. The cap's surface is dry and dull, and free from hair. The threadlike 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...
attaches centrally to the cap, measures from 20 to 50 mm (0.78740157480315 to 2 in) long by 0.2 millimetre thick. It is cyclindrical, but may taper slightly, and is covered in short, white hairs. The base of the stem enters 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...
, and there are no rhizomorphs visible. The majority of the stem is blackish-brown, but it is a lighter brown at the very top.
The white gills can be adnate or adnexed; that is, they can be attached to the stem by their whole depth, or only part of it. The individual gills are distantly spaced, with between 8 and 12 reaching the stem. Each gill is up to 0.5 mm (0.0196850393700787 in) thick, and the edges are even. There are sometimes lamellulae (short gills that do not reach the cap). There is a thin layer, up to 0.3 mm (0.0118110236220472 in) thick, of whitish flesh in the cap. It is tough, but it can be bent without breaking. The flesh has no smell or taste.
Microscopic characteristics
Marasmius funalis mushrooms leave a white spore printSpore 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...
. The individual basidiospore
Basidiospore
A basidiospore is a reproductive spore produced by Basidiomycete fungi. Basidiospores typically each contain one haploid nucleus that is the product of meiosis, and they are produced by specialized fungal cells called basidia. In grills under a cap of one common species in the phylum of...
s are ellipsoidal, and measure 6.5 to 8 by 4 to 5 micrometre
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...
s (μm). They have thin cell wall
Cell wall
The cell wall is the tough, usually flexible but sometimes fairly rigid layer that surrounds some types of cells. It is located outside the cell membrane and provides these cells with structural support and protection, and also acts as a filtering mechanism. A major function of the cell wall is to...
s, and they are smooth and colourless. The spores are inamyloid, meaning that they do not stain when they come into contact with iodine
Iodine
Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The name is pronounced , , or . The name is from the , meaning violet or purple, due to the color of elemental iodine vapor....
from Melzer's reagent
Melzer's Reagent
Melzer's reagent is a chemical reagent used by mycologists to assist with the identification of fungi.-Composition:...
or Lugol's solution. The spores are borne on club-shaped basidia measuring 20 to 25 by 4.5 to 7 μm, with two spores per basidium. There are also club-shaped basidioles (under-developed basidia).
The edge of the gill is sterile, made up of a mass of cystidia (cheilocystidia). The club-shaped cheilocystidia measure from 10 to 25 by 7 to 12 μm, and sport multiple cylindrical appendages on their tips, measuring 1 to 7 by 1 to 1.5 μm. The cheilocystidia are colourless, with cell walls of variable thickness, and are inamyloid. There are no pleurocystidia (cystidia on the face of the gills). The caulocystidia (cystidia in the stem) measure 60 to 200 by 4 to 7 µm. They are cylindrical and erect, forming the visible bristles. The tip is either pointed or rounded, and the cell walls are smooth and colourless, up to 2 µm thick. They are dextrinoid, meaning they stain a reddish-brown when they come into contact with iodine from Melzer's reagent or Lugol's solution.
The pileipellis
Pileipellis
thumb|300px||right|The cuticle of some mushrooms, such as [[Russula mustelina]] shown here, can be peeled from the cap, and may be useful as an identification feature....
, the top layer of hyphae in the cap, is a cutis. The cutis is made up of cylindrical hyphae between 2 and 5 µm thick. The inamyloid and thin-walled hyphae are covered in brown granule
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:...
s. The flesh in the cap is made up of cylindrical hyphae from 4 to 7 µm wide with thin cell walls. They are all generative hyphae, and run parallel to one another. They can be either inamyloid or only weakly dextrinoid. The flesh in the gills is basically the same as the flesh in the cap, but for the fact that it is completely inamyloid. The hyphae of the stipitipellis, the uppermost layer in the stem, also form a cutis. The cylindrical hyphae making up the cutis run parallel to one another, and measure from 2.5 to 4.5 µm in width, with walls up to 1 µm thick. They are encrusted with a brown pigment, and are dextrinoid. The flesh of the stem is made up of generative hyphae running lengthways (that is, up and down the stem). The cells are 5 to 8 µm wide, and are smooth and colourless; the cell walls up to 1 µm thick. They are dextrinoid. All M. funalis hyphae lack 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
Marasmius funalis differs from its closest relative, M. liquidambari, due to the presence of cheilocystidia, the lack of clamp connections and the fact that the caulocystidia of M. liquidambari do not form bristles; instead, they are club shaped to cylindrical. The species is known from Mexico and Papua New Guinea. M. hudonii, known from Europe, is similar in appearance to M. funalis. However, the former has a cap covered in hairs or bristles, and differs microscopically; for instance, the hyphae feature clamp connections. The MalagasyMadagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
species Setulipes funaliformis was named after M. funalis due to the morphological
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
similarities between the two. The species can be differentiated by the fact that the basidiospores of S. funalformis are slightly larger and narrower, measuring from 7 to 10 by 3.5 to 4.5 μm, and the caulocystidia of M. funalis are significantly longer.
Distribution and ecology
Marasmius funalis is known only from Kawasaki, KanagawaKawasaki, Kanagawa
is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, between Tokyo and Yokohama. It is the 9th most populated city in Japan and one of the main cities forming the Greater Tokyo Area and Keihin Industrial Area....
and Machida, Tokyo
Machida, Tokyo
is a city located in the western part of the greater metropolis of Tokyo, Japan. The city was founded on February 1, 1958.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 424,669 and a population density of 5,928.65 persons per km². The total area is 71.63 km²...
, Japan. Mushrooms grow in groups on dead plant matter, and have been recorded on Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) wood and leaf litter in woodland mostly made up of Chonowski's hornbeam (Carpinus tschonoskii) and bamboo-leaf oak
Quercus myrsinifolia
Quercus myrsinifolia is an evergreen Oak tree in the ring-cupped oaks subgenus. It has several common names, including Bamboo-leaf Oak, Chinese Evergreen Oak, and Chinese Ring-cupped Oak. Its Chinese name is 小叶青冈; pinyin:xiǎo yè qīng gāng, which means little leaf ring-cupped Oak...
(Quercus myrsinifolia). The mushrooms can be encountered from May to July.