(L.) Pers. (1825)
|ridges on hymenium|
|cap is infundibuliform|
|hymenium is decurrent|
|stipe is bare|
spore print is creamto salmon
|ecology is saprotrophic|
Craterellus is a genus of generally edible fungi similar to the closely related chanterelles, with some new species recently moved from the latter to the former. Both groups lack true gills on the underside of their caps, though they often have gill-like wrinkles and ridges.
Molecular phylogenetics have been applied to the problem of discriminating between Craterellus and Cantharellus genera. Results indicate that the presence of a hollow stem may be a synapomorphy (a trait corresponding to the evolutionary relationship) which reliably identifies Craterellus species. Cr. cornucopioides appears to be a single polymorphic species, while Cr. tubaeformis may be two separate genetic groups separated by geography.
Definition of the genus
|Phylogenetic relationships of some Craterellus species and the Cantharellus genus based on DNA sequences. C. tubaeformis as previously described is two separate genetic groups, corresponding to Europe-eastern North America and western North America.|
The genera Craterellus and Cantharellus have always been recognized as closely related. The whole group may be recognized by their lack of division into cap and stem, and their rudimentary or missing gills ("false gills"). Originally Cantharellus was defined by Fries in 1821 to mean all these species together and then in 1825 Persoon separated some species off to create the Craterellus group, with Cr. cornucopioides as type species. Since then some authorities have tried to merge the two genera together again, but DNA studies now indicate that (with recent changes) each genus is monophyletic, and so they are likely to remain separate.
- the fruiting body had a hollow stem, generally being funnel-shaped, and
- there were no clamp connections.
But phylogenetic DNA work starting with the 2000 paper of Dahlman et al. has shown that some species traditionally placed in Cantharellus (C. tubaeformis, C. ignicolor and C. lutescens) really belong in Craterellus, and this means that the second distinguishing rule is no longer valid. On the other hand the first rule holds up well.
The taxonomy of these fungi is in a state of flux (particularly due to DNA analysis) and many earlier names are now disputed. The following table gives some of the most important ones. Numerous species of Cantharellus have at times been classified under Craterellus, but these are mostly excluded from the table. See also the cladogram at right for a portrayal of the relationships between the species based on recent evidence.
|Name, author & date||Current status||Further details|
|Cr. caeruleofuscus A.H. Sm. (1968) ||Valid.||With blue or purplish shades, growing in sphagnum around the Great Lakes.|
|Cr. cornucopioides (L.) Pers. (1825)||Valid||Type species of the genus.|
|Cr. excelsus T.W. Henkel & Aime (2009)||Valid||Described in 2009 from Guyana.|
|Cr. fallax A.H. Sm. (1968) ||Synonym of Cr. cornucopioides.||If separated from Cr. cornucopioides, this is on the basis of its geography and the colour of the underside.|
|Cr. ignicolor (R.H. Petersen) Dahlman, Danell & Spatafora (2000)||Synonym of Cantharellus ignicolor||Although the paper of Dahlman et al., and also one reference of Kuo, puts this in Craterellus, it seems currently to be in Cantharellus. It is very similar to Cr. tubaeformis but the cap is yellow to orange.|
|Cantharellus infundibuliformis (Scop.) Fr. (1838)||Synonym of Cr. tubaeformis.||In the past the species infundibuliformis has been separated from tubaeformis on the basis of spore print colour and spore size, but molecular analysis shows that the distinction is not justified. When this species name was in use it was as Cantharellus, but if reintroduced now it would have to be as Craterellus.|
|Cr. konradii Bourdot & Maire (1930)||Synonym of Cr. cornucopioides.||If separated from Cr. cornucopioides, it is distinguished by a yellowish (rather than black) coloration.|
|Cr. lutescens (Fr.) Fr. (1838)||Valid||Closely associated with Cr. tubaeformis, this species has less well-developed lamellae.|
|Cr. tubaeformis (Fr.) Quél. (1888)||Valid||This common species (sometimes called "yellowfoot") has relatively well-developed gills, a greyish cap, and a hollow yellow stem. It was moved from Cantharellus to Craterellus due to DNA studies. Those found in western N. America may be a different species from those in Europe and eastern North America.|
- "Synonymy: Craterellus Pers.". Species Fungorum. CAB International. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
- Dahlman, Mattias; Danell, Eric; Spatafora, Joseph W. (April 2000). "Molecular systematics of Craterellus: cladistic analysis of nuclear LSU rDNA sequence data" (PDF). Mycological Research 104 (4): 388–394. doi:10.1017/S0953756299001380.
- See Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month for January 2008 for a description of the difference between "real" and "false" gills.
- See page for Cantharellus in Index Fungorum.
- See page for Craterellus in Index Fungorum.
- Robert Kühner & Henri Romagnesi (1974). Flore analytique des champignons supérieurs (agarics, bolets, chanterelles) (in French). Paris: Masson. p. 47. ISBN 2-225-53713-5. This reference covers Craterellus as a subgenus of Craterellus, not as a genus.
- Moncalvo JM, Nilsson RH, Koster B, Dunham SM, Bernauer T, Matheny PB, Porter TM, Margaritescu S, Weiss M, Garnica S, Danell E, Langer G, Langer E, Larsson E, Larsson KH, Vilgalys R. (2006). "The cantharelloid clade: dealing with incongruent gene trees and phylogenetic reconstruction methods" (PDF). Mycologia 98 (6): 937–948. doi:10.3852/mycologia.98.6.937. PMID 17486970. Retrieved 23 March 2013.. The important "false gill" characteristic of these fungi is discussed on page 938 and it is mentioned that lamellae of Gomphus are similar.
- See page for Cr. caeruleofuscus in Index Fungorum.
- Kuo, M. (2011, February). Chanterelles and trumpets: Cantharellus and Craterellus. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: 
- See the Mycoquébec page for Cr. caeruleofuscus.
- See page for Cr. excelsus in Index Fungorum.
- See page for Cr. fallax in Index Fungorum.
- Kuo, M. (2003, June). The Cantharellus/Craterellus clade. Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com Web site: 
- See the Mycoquébec page for Cr. fallax.
- See page for Ca. ignicolor in Species Fungorum.
- See page for Ca. infundibuliformis in Index Fungorum.
- See page for Cr. konradii in Index Fungorum.
- See page for Cr. lutescens in Species Fungorum.
- See page for Cr. tubaeformis in Species Fungorum.
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