Vararia

Vararia spec.

Vararia is a fungal genus within the family of Lachnocladiaceae. The fungi have often inconspicuous, more or less ocher, pretty tough and resupinate fruiting bodies. In Trama can be found dextrinoide, thick-walled and usually Dichohyphiden sulfopositive Gloeozystiden. The type species is Vararia investiens. Recent molecular studies show that the genus is polyphyletic.

Features

Macro features

The resupinaten to effuso reflexes, year but sometimes layered ( multi-year ) fruiting bodies are grown on the substrate. You are membranous to leathery and rare hard or crusty and up to 0.2 mm thick. Very rare to see outgoing Hyphenstränge. The hymenophore is smooth or bumpy and whitish to cream or ocher. The hymenium is typically a Catahymenium. The context is quite soft to tough, the spore powder is whitish. The Trama can sometimes darken in KOH.

Micro-features

The Hyphensystem is dimitisch and consists of thick-walled, hyaline to yellowish or brown, dextrinoiden binding hyphae and hyaline, smooth or incrusted, more or less thin-walled generative hyphae. At the septa buckles may occur or be absent. The very variable, mostly smooth basidiospores are ellipsoid, nearly spherical, cylindrical, fusiform, or allantoid lacrymoid. In some tropical species, they can also be ornamented. You are 2.5-16 microns long and 2-5.5 microns wide, inamyloid or partially amyloid. The 21-50 microns long basidia are hyaline, usually urn -shaped to clavate rare or almost cylindrical and wear (2 -) 4 sterigmata. In addition, one finds sterile Hymenialelemente, namely cylindrical to club-shaped, bottle-shaped, bulbous or fusiform to pfriemenförmige, 17-80 microns long Gloeozystiden which carry a patch papilla sometimes at their peak ( Schizopapille ). They are smooth, thin - to thick-walled and often have an oily content, which is usually sulfopositiv, but sometimes sulfonegativ. They are found in very variable numbers. Additionally you'll find more or less differentiated, thick-walled, hyaline, dichotomously branched several times and dextrinoide Dichohyphen. The outermost branches in the basal layer are often long and are then often referred to as dextrinoide binding hyphae or branched Skeletthyphen. In the ( sub) Hymenium the Dichohyphen are relatively short and sometimes coralloid.

Ecology and distribution

The fungi are parasitic or saprophytic on wood of deciduous and coniferous trees and produce a white rot. Rarely do you find them on the litter or soil.

System

The genus was described in 1898 by Vararia Petter Adolf Karsten. The type species is Radulum investiens pig. The genus Asterostromella Höhn. & Litsch. regarded as synonymous.

Vararia is traditionally made in the Lachnocladiaceae family together with the genera Asterostroma, Dichostereum, Lachnocladium and Scytinostroma. As a unifying feature of these fungi have all thick-walled hyphae dextrinoide in the form of asteroid, Dendro or Dichohyphidien. This Hyphiden functionally correspond to the binding hyphae, as found in many Polyporen. In many species, these hyphae are the dominant Hyphentyp, so the mushrooms have more or less chewy fruit bodies. Normally, the Lachnocladiaceae not form a coherent hymenium. Instead, the basidia are formed deep in the hymenium between the Hyphiden and stretch until maturity up to the surface to discharge their spores. Therefore, the basidia are often urn -shaped. They have a wide base rapidly grows out of, under appropriate conditions, a slender, elongated neck. This type of the hymenium is called Catahymenium. The Catahymenium is an adaptation to short-term drought periods. The differently designed Hyphiden reduce evaporation, much like it the hair on the leaves of some xerophytes ( plants adapted to drought ) do. Under appropriate conditions Basidiolen can ripen quickly and come to sporulate. Recent molecular biological kinship analyzes that also Peniophora, Gloiothele and Vesiculomyces species belong to Lachnocladiaceae relationship, although these species have no dichotomies or Asterohyphiden. Some representatives of the Peniophora Dendrohyphiden occur. In the past, particularly the distinction between the two closely related genera Scytinostroma and Vararia has been controversial. Many mycologists thought the separation of the species for artificial and believed that both genera form a common, natural taxon. Moreover, the recent molecular biological studies have shown that both classes to separate into multiple lineages, with several branches contain representatives from both genres. But the picture is still incomplete, since only a fraction of the species was studied by molecular biology. The genus Scytinostroma was introduced to types with sparsely branched, dextrinoiden Skeletthyphen of species with richly branched, delineate Dichohyphiden, as it is typical for representatives of the genus Vararia. It is also unclear whether and how the genus Lachnocladium of the two to those genera: area. Only the species of the genera Dichostereum and Peniophora seem to form two monophyletic groups within the family. How Vararia has Dichostereum Dichohyphiden, but in contrast to Vararia spherical, coarsely ornamented amyloid spores. The investigated Peniophora species form a common cluster. Peniophora is also a very diverse genus. Most species have knotty - septate hyphae, sulfopositive Gloeozystiden and characteristic thick-walled, encrusted cystidia, which are called Metuloide. The spores are always smooth and inamyloid. The species are closely related to the type species of the genus Vararia investiens Vararia and are a sister taxon of the genus Dichostereum.

Species

Worldwide, more than 50 species are known in the German speaking following species occur: