Chaetothiersia is a fungal genus in the family Pyronemataceae. It is monotypic, containing the single species Chaetothiersia vernalis collected from California.
Description
This species is characterized by having stiff brown hairs on the surface of the ectal excipulum, the outer layer of the
apothecium. The ectal excipulum is thin, and made of roughly spherical to somewhat spherical/angular cells. Its
are smooth, and do not contain oil droplets.
Lookalikes
Genera with species that bear a resemblance to
C. vernalis include
Geopora,
Humaria,
Trichophaea,
Trichophaeopsis,
Tricharina, most of which are distinguishable only by examining microscopic characteristics.
Etymology
The
etymology of the generic name is derived from the
Greek language chaeto, meaning hairy (a reference to both the external hairs on the cups and to Dr. Thiers' first name), and "thiersia", in honor of mycologist Harry Thiers, one of the first to collect this specimen.
Distribution and habitat
Collected from the northern High
Sierra Nevada of
California, it has been found growing in groups on the decaying wood and bark of the conifer
Abies magnifica.
External links
