The Beautiful <i>Mellitiosporiella</i>: <i>Mellitiosporiella pulchella</i>

Karakehian, Jason

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/114246 Copy

Description

Title

The Beautiful Mellitiosporiella: Mellitiosporiella pulchella

Author(s)

Karakehian, Jason

Issue Date

2022

Keyword(s)

Plant Biology

Abstract

In Latin, pulchella means beautiful and little. When I found this rare fungus growing on the rotted wood of a fallen beech tree in Kentucky, I was struck by how apt the name is. These tiny apothecia – the spore-producing bodies of the fungus, are only a few millimeters long at most. They develop just below the surface of the wood within an envelope of protective fungal tissue. At maturity, they burst forth, becoming encircled by ragged flaps of these tissues. These apothecia are really tough; they live for many months and can survive long periods of desiccation. When it rains, they swell slightly, as in this image, and eject their spores into the wind. There are a handful of other fungal genera that produce similar looking apothecia to Mellitiosporiella. I began collecting and studying these nearly a decade ago, before I decided to go back to graduate school to earn a doctoral degree in mycology. I’m now thrilled to dive deep into the diversity, distribution, and evolutionary relationships of these understudied fungi for my dissertation research here at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Type of Resource

• Text
• Image

Language

eng

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/114246

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2022 Jason Karakehian

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