Imaia

 ( Fungi Of Asia ) 

Imaia is a fungal genus in the family Morchellaceae found in Japan and in the Appalachian Mountains of the US.

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Taxonomy A monotypic genus, Imaia was circumscribed in 2008 by James Martin Trappe and Gábor M. Kovácsto to contain the truffle-like species formerly known as Terfezia gigantea when molecular analysis demonstrated that its were markedly different from those of Terfezia.

The generic name Imaia honors Japanese mycologist Sanshi Imai (1900–1976), who collected the type specimen,

while the botanical name gigantea alludes to the large size of the specimens in the type collection, one of which measured .

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Description

The fruit bodies of Imaia gigantea are spherical to roughly elliptical to irregular in shape, brown, and usually develop cracks in age. The interior gleba comprises brown pockets of ascus separated by white veins. The are spherical or nearly so, up to 70 micrometre long, and enclosed by a thick epispore.

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External links

Categories: Fungi Of Asia, Fungi Of North America, Pezizales, Monotypic Ascomycota Genera

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