Cyathus stercoreus
Cyathus stercoreus | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Fungi |
Division: | Basidiomycota |
Class: | Agaricomycetes |
Order: | Agaricales |
Family: | Nidulariaceae |
Genus: | Cyathus |
Species: | C. stercoreus
|
Binomial name | |
Cyathus stercoreus (
Schwein. ) De Toni (1888) | |
Synonyms | |
Several, including:
|
Cyathus stercoreus, commonly known as the dung-loving bird's nest
Description
The fruiting bodies, or perida, are funnel- or barrel-shaped, 6–15 mm tall, 4–8 mm wide at the mouth, sometimes short-stalked, golden brown to blackish brown in age.[5] The outside wall of the peridium, the ectoperidium, is covered with tufts of fungal hyphae that resembles shaggy, untidy hair. However, in older specimens this outer layer of hair (technically a tomentum) may be completely worn off. The internal wall of the cup, the endoperidium, is smooth and grey to bluish-black. The 'eggs' of the bird's nest – the peridioles – are blackish, 1–2 mm in diameter,[5] and there are typically about 20 in the cup.[6] Peridioles are often attached to the fruiting body by a funiculus, a structure of hyphae that is differentiated into three regions: the basal piece, which attaches it to the inner wall of the peridium, the middle piece, and an upper sheath, called the purse, connected to the lower surface of the peridiole. In the purse and middle piece is a coiled thread of interwoven hyphae called the funicular cord, attached at one end to the peridiole and at the other end to an entangled mass of hyphae called the hapteron. However, Brodie reports that sometimes C. stercoreus is found without a funiculus, which has led some authors to misidentify this species with the genus Nidula.[7]
The
Ultrastructure
Cyathus stercoreus saprotrophic | |
---|---|
Edibility is inedible |
Examination of fruiting bodies using
Life cycle
The life cycle of Cyathus stercoreus, which contains both
Development
Extreme variability in fruiting body form and color has been noted for C. stercoreus.
Habitat and distribution
Being coprophilous, C. stercoreus grows on dung, in soil with dung, and bonfire sites; it has also been recorded growing on sand dunes.[5] The fungus is known to have a worldwide distribution, and Curtis Gates Lloyd, in his monograph on the Nidulariaceae, wrote that it "probably occurs in every country where manure occurs".[16]
Spore dispersal
When a drop of water hits the interior of the cup at the appropriate angle and velocity, the peridioles are ejected into the air by the force of the drop. The force of ejection tears open the purse, and results in the expansion of the funicular cord, formerly coiled under pressure in the lower part of the purse. The peridioles, followed by the highly adhesive funicular cord and basal hapteron, may hit a nearby plant stem or stick. The hapteron sticks to it, and the funicular cord wraps around the stem or stick powered by the force of the still-moving peridiole. After drying out, the peridiole remains attached to the vegetation, where it may be eaten by a grazing herbivorous animal, and later deposited in that animal's dung to continue the life cycle.[17]
Bioactive compounds
A number of
Uses
While inedible,[20] the species has other uses.
Traditional medicine
In Traditional Chinese medicine, a decoction of this fungus is used to help relieve the symptoms of gastralgia, or stomach ache.[21]
Agricultural and industrial
Cyathus stercoreus has been investigated for its ability to break down
See also
References
- ^ Speg., Anales del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural Buenos Aires 6: 185 (1898)
- ^ Emberger G. "Cyathus stercoreus". Retrieved 2009-03-03.
- ^ "Standardized Common Names for Wild Species in Canada". National General Status Working Group. 2020.
- ISBN 0-88192-627-2. Google Books
- ^ ISBN 0-412-36970-2.
- ^ a b c d Flegler SL, Hooper GR. (1978). "Ultrastructure of Cyathus stercoreus".Mycologia 70(6): 1181–1190.
- ^ a b Brodie, The Bird's Nest Fungi, p. 168.
- ^ a b Martin GW. (1927). "Basidia and spores of the Nidulariaceae". Mycologia 19(5): 239–47.
- ^ Brodie, The Bird's Nest Fungi, p. 10.
- ISBN 1-4051-3066-0.
- ^ Brodie HJ. (1948). "Variation in the fruit bodies of Cyathus stercoreus produced in culture". Mycologia 40: 614–26.
- JSTOR 3758634.
- ^ Garnett E. (1958). "Studies of factors affecting fruiting body formation in Cyathus stercoreus (Schw.) de Toni". PhD Dissertation, Indiana University.
- ^ Lu B. (1965). "The role of light in fructification of the basidiomycete Cyathus stercoreus". American Journal of Botany 52: 432–437.
- ^ Brodie, The Birds Nest Fungi, p. 57–58.
- ^ Gates CL. (1906). "The Nidulariaceae". Mycological Writings 2: 1–30.
- ^ Brodie, The Bird's Nest Fungi, pp. 7–9.
- PMID 17511503.
- PMID 18565749.
- ISBN 978-1-55407-651-2.
- ^ Bo L, Bu Y-S. Fungi Pharmacopoeia (Sinica). The Kinoko Company: Oakland, California. p. 246.
- PMID 16345591.
- .
- PMID 7747973.
- PMID 16346497. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2011-07-21.
- S2CID 8275935.
- ^ Chen J. (1995). "Development of fungal degrading system to detoxify 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) in liquid phase bioreactors". PhD dissertation, Texas A&M University. 127 pp.
Cited text
Brodie HJ (1975). The Bird's Nest Fungi. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
External links
- Media related to Cyathus stercoreus at Wikimedia Commons