| Platycarpa | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Pucciniomycetes |
| Order: | Platygloeales |
| Family: | Eocronartiaceae |
| Genus: | Platycarpa |
| Species: | P. polypodii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Platycarpa polypodii (Couch) Couch (1949)
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Septobasidium polypodii Couch (1929) | |
Platycarpa is a genus of fungus in the order Platygloeales,[1] containing the single species Platycarpa polypodii. The species forms effused basidiocarps (fruit bodies) on ferns, on which it is parasitic.
The known host for Platycarpa polypodii is a fern in the genus Polypodium.[2] The fungus parasitizes host leaves, producing basidiocarps as small whitish patches covering the sori. Microscopically, the basidia are auricularioid (tubular with lateral septa) and emerge from thin-walled probasidia. The species was originally described by American mycologist John N. Couch based on a collection from Jamaica.[2] A second species, Platycarpa boliviensis, is now considered a synonym of Ptechetelium cyatheae.[2]