Northern species of earth tongue genus Thuemenidium revisited, considering morphology, ecology and molecular phylogeny

Mycologia. 2010 Sep-Oct;102(5):1089-95. doi: 10.3852/09-317.

Abstract

Thuemenidium is a small earth tongue genus with three recognized white-spored species. Within Thuemenidium, T. atropurpureum and T. arenarium have been reported only from the northern hemisphere while T. berteroi is known solely in the southern hemisphere. We reviewed the ecology, examined the morphology and inferred the systematic positions of northern species of Thuemenidium from LSU-rDNA gene phylogeny of 48 taxa in Pezizomycotina including recent collections. Our results suggest that Thuemenidium in its current sense is polyphyletic and that T. atropurpureum, closely related to Microglossum and Leotia species, is a member of Leotiaceae (Helotiales, Leotiomycetes). Our phylogeny placed the other northern species, T. arenarium, in Geoglossaceae (Geoglossales, Geoglossomycetes), retaining genus Thuemenidium, pending further investigation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Ascomycota / classification*
  • Ascomycota / genetics*
  • Ascomycota / ultrastructure
  • Climate
  • DNA, Fungal / genetics
  • Ecology
  • Evolution, Molecular
  • Species Specificity

Substances

  • DNA, Fungal