Scleroderma bermudense

Scleroderma bermudense is a species of Basidiomycete fungi in the family Sclerodermataceae.[1] The species was first described by American botanist and mycologist, William Chambers Coker, in 1939.

Scleroderma bermudense
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Boletales
Family: Sclerodermataceae
Genus: Scleroderma
Species:
S. bermudense
Binomial name
Scleroderma bermudense
Coker (1939)

Range

The species is indigenous to Bermuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, the Virgin Islands, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico; the US state of Florida;[2] and the Mexican states of Guerrero, Acapulco, Quintana Roo, Veracruz, and Yucatan.[3] It has been introduced accidentally along with its host tree in various tropical regions, including French Guiana, Senegal, and Réunion. [4]

Habitat

Scleroderma bermudense is limited to the dune ecosystem of sandy beaches beneath its mycorrhizal host.[2]

Ecology

Scleroderma bermudense is a mycorrhizal fungus associated with the seagrape Coccoloba uvifera.[4] It has been found to alleviate salt uptake in seagrape seedlings,[5] thus facilitating the tree's ability to live on coastal beaches.

Etymology

The genus name comes from Greek sclero, meaning hard, and derma, meaning skin, and is the same as the name of a skin disease also characterized by hardened skin. The specific epithet bermudense refers to the type localty, Bermuda. This species does not have a common name in English.

Taxonomy

This species has previously been considered a synonym of Scleroderma stellatum, found in Brazil, but S. stellatum differs in having an echinulated peridium, which S. bermudensis lacks.[3]

Conservation Status

Scleroderma bermudense has been proposed for Endangered status under criteria A3c because its habitat is subject to sea level rise.[2]

References
  1. "Scleroderma bermudense". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  2. "Scleroderma bermudense Coker". International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  3. "An emendation of Scleroderma, new records, and review of the known species in Mexico". ScienceDirect.
  4. "A pantropically introduced tree is followed by specific ectomycorrhizal symbionts due to pseudo-vertical transmission". Nature. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  5. "The ectomycorrhizal fungus Scleroderma bermudense alleviates salt stress in seagrape (Coccoloba uvifera L.) seedlings". SpringerLink. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.