Australian ghost mushroom
| Australian ghost mushroom | ||||||||||||
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Australian ghost mushroom ( Omphalotus nidiformis ) |
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| Omphalotus nidiformis | ||||||||||||
| ( Berk. ) OKMill. |
The Australian ghost mushroom ( Omphalotus nidiformis ; syn .: Pleurotus nidiformis , Pleurotus lampas , Pleurotus phosphorus, Panus incandescens ) is a poisonous basidia mushroom , which is characterized by its bioluminescent properties, i. H. it glows in the dark. It occurs particularly in South Australia and Tasmania , but was also detected in India in 2012. Omphalotus nidiformis is one of several species in the cosmopolitan genus Omphalotus , all of which have bioluminescent properties.
description
The fan-shaped or funnel-shaped fruit bodies have a diameter of up to 30 centimeters. They usually grow in large clumps and then show some irregularly shaped hats and are then often stalked eccentric and recall members of the genus of the oyster ( Pleurotus ). Single fruit bodies with a central stem are the exception and are most likely to occur on buried wood. The edge of the hat is often wavy to irregular in densely tufted fruit bodies and torn radially in older fruit bodies.
The hat skin is dull when young, later smooth, first creamy white, very pale, later especially in the middle of the hat but with a wide range of colors - yellowish, ocher-brown, pale-fawn, bronze-colored, cinnamon-brown, brown, gray-brown, chocolate-brown to purple-blackish tones appear especially in the middle of the hat of the fruit bodies illuminated by the light, i.e. on the areas of the hat skin that are exposed to the longest light.
The lamellae are creamy white, densely packed when young, later a little less dense, often forked and anastomising and run far down the stalk. The stem is 5 to 7.5 centimeters long and usually strong (then up to 4 centimeters thick), more rarely slimmer, then only up to 2 centimeters thick. The stem surface is usually white to creamy yellow, more rarely also brownish. It is also somewhat longitudinally fibrous, tends to show gray pustules and the stalk skin tends to tear open.
Sylvan Grove Native Garden, Picnic Point, New South Wales
The light, white flesh of the hat is almost transparent and relatively tender in fruit bodies that grow in the shade, while it is opaque and tough when exposed to light. The stalk is white and extremely tough.
The fruiting bodies and especially the lamellae show a clear bioluminescence that is easily perceptible in the dark . It is so pronounced that you can observe it directly in the field at night.
The spores are elliptical and measure 7–9 × 5–6 µm.
ecology
The fungus lives both saprotrophically and parasitically. It is found in groups on living or dead trees, especially on Banksia grandis , Agonis flexuosa , Allocasuarina spp., Corymbia calophylla and Eucalyptus spp.
The Australian spirit mushroom is the host of the beetle Thallis compta (Coleoptera: Erotylidae : Erotylinae ).
Mix-ups
The Australian Ghost Mushroom is similar when it comes to bright fruiting bodies, because of the color, the fruit body shape and the shape of the fins very members of the genus of the oyster ( Pleurotus ), such that. B. the oyster mushroom or the lung mushroom , and was therefore also counted among the mushrooms in the past. In case of doubt, a distinction can be made relatively easily using bioluminescence. Older fruiting bodies are easily recognizable by the brightly colored coloring.
Systematics
It is reported that the first scientific mention is from 1844. Its naming was probably inconsistent at first. The current name comes from Orson K. Miller Jr. from 1994. Its scientific name comes from the Latin nidus "nest", hence "nest-shaped". Because of the similarity with the edible oyster mushroom , it was previously considered a member of this genus ( Pleurotus ) and described under the former name Pleurotus nidiformis or Pleurotus lampas .
Bioluminescence
Bioluminescence is triggered by the oxidation of luciferins by the enzyme luciferase . Due to the association of the Australian ghost mushroom with insects, e.g. B. the beetle Thallis compta , an attempt was made to demonstrate a connection between bioluminescence and the attracting of insects to spread spores. However, this proof failed.
Toxicity
In contrast to oyster mushrooms, Omphalotus nidiformis is poisonous and causes severe cramps and vomiting. The toxic properties of the fungus are attributed to the so-called illudins , which also cause the glow.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Omphalotus nidiformis. In: MycoBank. Retrieved May 5, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Jose G. Shirmila, PM Radhamany: Identification and determination of antioxidant constituents of bioluminescent mushroom . In: Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine . tape 2012 , 2012, p. 386-391 .
- ↑ a b Richard Robinson: Fungus of the Month - February 2012 - Omphalotus nidiformis - the ghost fungus. 2012, accessed on May 5, 2020 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h John Burton Cleland: Toadstools and Mushrooms and other larger Fungi of South Australia Parts I and II 1934-1935 . AB James, 1976, p. 1–362 (Original title: Toadstools and Mushrooms and other larger Fungi of South Australia Parts I. 1934. Reprint from 1976).
- ↑ a b c Philip Weinstein, Steven Delean, Tom Wood, Andrew D. Austin: Bioluminescence in the ghost fungus Omphalotus nidiformis does not attract potential spore dispersing insects . In: IMA Fungus . tape 7 , no. 2 , December 2016, ISSN 2210-6359 , p. 229–234 , doi : 10.5598 / imafungus.2016.07.02.01 .
- ↑ Kings Park Bushland A Pocket Guide to the Bushland Nature Trail. Kings Park and Botanic Garden, accessed May 5, 2020 .
- ↑ Simon Fearn: Ghost fungus Omphalotus nidiformis (Berk.) OKMill (Marasmiaceae) as a host for the fungus Beetle Thallis compta Erichson, 1842 (Coleoptera: Erotylidae) In Northern Tasmania . In: The Tasmanian Naturalist . tape 139 , 2017, p. 94-98 .
- ↑ Susan Wells: A beetle on Omphalotus nidiformis . In: The Queensland Mycologist. Bulletin of The Queensland Mycological Society . tape 12 , no. 2 , 2017, p. 11 ( org.au [PDF]).
- ↑ David Maynard, Simon Fearn, Genevieve Gates: Novel host associations for the fungus beetles Cnecosa insueta and Thallis vinula (Coleoptera: Erotylidae: Erotylinae) in Tasmania . In: The Tasmanian Naturalist . tape 140 , 2018, p. 21-26 .