Dendrocollybia

Dendrocollybia

Dendrocollybia is a fungal genus in the family Tricholomataceae of the order Agaricales. It is a monotypic genus, containing the single species Dendroc Mollybia racemosa, commonly known as the branched Collybia. The species is characterized by its unusual stem, which is covered with short lateral branches.

About Dendrocollybia in brief

Summary DendrocollybiaDendrocollybia is a fungal genus in the family Tricholomataceae of the order Agaricales. It is a monotypic genus, containing the single species Dendroc Mollybia racemosa, commonly known as the branched Collybia. The species is characterized by its unusual stem, which is covered with short lateral branches. It usually grows on the decaying fruit bodies of other agarics, although the host mushrooms may be decayed to the point of being difficult to recognize. The anamorphic form of the fungus is missing the sexual stage of its life cycle. It can reproduce at relatively low temperatures, an adaptation believed to improve its ability to grow quickly and fruit on decomposing mushrooms. The fungus is typically between 3 to 10mm in diameter, depending on its development, and may be conic to convex or flattened in maturity. The specific epithet is from the Latin word racemus, which means cluster of grapes or grapes cluster. It was originally described and named Agaricus racemosus by Christian Hendrik Persoon in 1797, and sanctioned under that name by Elias Magnus Fries in 1821.

Rolf Singer’s fourth edition of his comprehensive Agaricalses in Modern Taxonomy included Collybi in section C Mollybia, in addition to the three species that currently comprise the genus C Hollybia: C.tuberosa, C.cirrhata and C.cookei. A phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacer sequences of ribosomal DNA by Karen Hughes and colleagues showed that C. tuberosa,. C. cirrhATA and C  cookesi form a monophyletic group within a larger Lyophyllum–Tricholoma–Collybia clade that includes several species of Lyophylli, Lepista, Hypsizygus and the species C.  racemosa. The so-named taxon was considered to be one of four species of CollyBIa, a genus which had itself been redefined and reduced in 1997, when most of its species were transferred to Gymnopus and Rhodocollybia, and most of the species were added to the new genus D endrocollybi. The genus was circumscribed in 2001 to contain the new species D Endrocollyba.