Tulasnella facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tulasnella |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Tulasnella violea | |
Scientific classification  |
|
| Unrecognized taxon (fix): | Tulasnella |
| Type species | |
| Tulasnella lilacina J.Schröt. (1888)
|
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Hormomyces Bonord. (1851) |
|
Tulasnella is a group of interesting fungi that often grow as flat patches on fallen branches and logs. Imagine a thin, waxy or slightly jelly-like film on the underside of wood – that's often what a Tulasnella looks like! These fungi can be many colors, but they are frequently a lovely lilac or violet-grey.
What makes Tulasnella special is how they make their spores. Under a microscope, their spore-producing cells, called basidia, have unique, swollen parts where the spores grow. One unusual type, Tulasnella aurantiaca, creates bright orange or red, jelly-like bumps on wood.
These fungi are also important because some of them form special partnerships with orchids and liverworts. Scientists know about 80 different kinds of Tulasnella all around the world.
Contents
Discovering the Tulasnella Fungi
This section tells us how scientists learned about and named Tulasnella.
A Look Back at History
The group of fungi called Tulasnella was first described by a German scientist named Joseph Schröter in 1888. He named it after an earlier drawing by Charles Tulasne. Schröter noticed that these fungi had very unusual spore-producing cells, which he thought were special enough for a new group. He believed they were a link between two other types of fungi.
Later, between 1909 and 1928, French scientists Hubert Bourdot and Amédée Galzin found and described many new Tulasnella species in France. In the USA, D.P Rogers wrote an important study about these fungi in 1933. In Australia, Jack Warcup and P.H.B. Talbot found new Tulasnella species living with orchid roots. In 1987, Royall T. Moore suggested a new name, Epulorhiza, for the thread-like forms of Tulasnella that were previously called Rhizoctonia. In the 1990s, Peter Roberts in the UK found even more new species and wrote a detailed guide to the whole group.
How Scientists Classify Tulasnella Today
Thanks to modern DNA studies, scientists have confirmed that Tulasnella is indeed a unique group of fungi. These studies showed that Tulasnella belongs to the Cantharellales order, which is a larger family of fungi.
The rules for naming living things have changed. Now, scientists use one name for a fungus, even if it has different forms during its life cycle. This means that Epulorhiza, which was once a separate name for a certain form of Tulasnella, is now considered the same as Tulasnella. So, all those thread-like forms are now part of the Tulasnella genus.
DNA research also revealed that another fungus group, Hormomyces, which grows in bumps on wood, is actually a type of Tulasnella. Before, scientists thought it was related to Tremella. In 2016, a new guide was published to help identify all the different Tulasnella species.
Tulasnella and Orchid Partnerships
Many plants and fungi form special partnerships. Tulasnella fungi are very important partners for orchids.
The Orchid's Fungal Friend
In 1899, a French botanist named Noël Bernard discovered something amazing. He found that orchid seeds need a fungus to help them sprout and grow. Almost all orchids keep this special partnership with fungi throughout their lives. This partnership is called a mycorrhizal association, where both the orchid and the fungus help each other.
In the 1960s, scientists grew fungi from orchid roots and saw them produce fruit bodies. They learned that Tulasnella species were often found with ground-dwelling orchids in Australia. More recently, direct DNA tests of orchid roots from all over the world have confirmed this partnership. Tulasnella helps both orchids that grow on the ground and those that grow on other plants (called epiphytic orchids). Many new Tulasnella species found today are from these orchid partnerships.
Tulasnella and Liverwort Connections
Tulasnella fungi also have a special relationship with another type of plant called liverworts.
A Link with Flat Liverworts
DNA studies have shown that flat, leaf-like thalloid liverworts in the Aneuraceae family often connect with Tulasnella species. This connection might be another helpful partnership, like with orchids, or it could be a different kind of relationship where the fungus lives on the liverwort. Scientists are still learning more about this interesting link.
Many Kinds of Tulasnella
Scientists have identified many different species within the Tulasnella group. Currently, there are around 80 known species of Tulasnella worldwide. Each species has its own unique features, but they all share the special characteristics of the Tulasnella genus.
