Thelephora

Thelephora
Thelephora terrestris
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Thelephorales
Family: Thelephoraceae
Genus: Thelephora
Ehrh. ex Willd. (1787)
Type species
Thelephora terrestris
Ehrh. (1787)
Synonyms[1]
  • Merisma Pers. (1797)
  • Thelephora sect. Phylacteria Pers. (1822)
  • Scyphopilus P.Karst. (1881)
  • Phylacteria (Pers.) Pat. (1887)
  • Thelophora Clem. (1902)
  • Pseudothelephora Lloyd (1919)

Thelephora is a genus of fungi in the family Thelephoraceae. The genus has a widespread distribution and contains about 50 species.[2] Fruit bodies of species are leathery, usually brownish at maturity, and range in shape from coral-like tufts to having distinct caps. Almost all species in the genus are thought to be inedible,[3] but Thelephora ganbajun is a gourmet fungus in Yunnan province of southwest China.[4]

The generic name is derived from the Greek thele (θηλή) meaning nipple and phorus meaning bearing.[5] Species in the genus are commonly known as "fiber fans" and "fiber vases".[3]

Some Thelephora species are known to accumulate or even hyperaccumulate trace elements in fruit-bodies. Thelephora penicillata hyperaccumulates cadmium and arsenic.[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference urlFungorum synonymy: Thelephora was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kirk 2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Bessette 1997 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tao 2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Thelephora[usurped] at myEtymology.com
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Borovicka 2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).