Auricularia nigricans
{{Short description|Species of fungus}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = 2010-05-10 Auricularia nigricans (Fr.- Fr.) Birkebak, Looney, & Sánchez-García 202799.jpg
| image_caption = On a dead broadleaf tree in Bolivia
| taxon = Auricularia nigricans
| authority = (Fr.) Birkebak, Looney, & Sánchez-García (2013)
| synonyms = {{collapsible list|title=Species synonymy
| Peziza nigrescens Sw. (1788)
| Peziza nigricans Sw. (1806)
| Peziza nigricans Fr. (1822)
| Exidia hispidula Berk. (1839)
| Hirneola nigra Fr. (1848)
| Hirneola hispidula (Berk.) Berk. (1875)
| Auricula hispidula (Berk.) Kuntze (1881)
| Auricula nigra (Fr.) Kuntze (1881)
| Lachnea nigra (Fr.) Sacc. (1899)
| Auricularia nigra (Fr.) Earle. (1899)
| Auricularia nigrescens (Sw.) Farlow (1905)
| Auricularia hispidula (Berk.) Farlow (1905)
| Hirneola nigricans (Fr.) P.W. Graff (1917)
| Auricularia polytricha (Mont.) Sacc. (1885))
}}
}}
Auricularia nigricans is a species of fungus in the family Auriculariaceae. Basidiocarps (fruitbodies} are gelatinous, ear-like, and grow on dead wood of broadleaf trees. It is found in southern and eastern Asia, North America, South America and the Caribbean. Asian examples were formerly considered as a separate species described as Auricularia polytricha.{{cn|date=March 2025}}
Taxonomy
The species was first described in 1788 as Peziza nigrescens by the Swedish botanist Olof Swartz, based on a collection he made from Jamaica. In a later publication he changed the name to Peziza nigricans, which was accepted by the Swedish mycologist Elias Magnus Fries. For abstruse nomenclatural reasons, Fries's sanctioned name takes priority over Swartz's original name. In his monograph of Auricularia species, American mycologist Bernard Lowy rejected the name as being "doubtful", preferring to call the species Auricularia polytricha. Olof Swartz's original collection still exists, however, enabling the identity of his species to be confirmed. Molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, has shown that Auricularia nigricans is distinct.
Description
Auricularia nigricans forms thin, rubbery-gelatinous fruit bodies that are ear-shaped and up to {{convert|60|mm|in|abbr=on}} across and {{convert|4|mm|in|abbr=on}} thick. The fruitbodies occur singly or in clusters. The upper surface is densely tomentose and ash-grey to yellowish brown. The spore-bearing underside is smooth and pinkish to brown.
= Microscopic characters =
The microscopic characters are typical of the genus Auricularia. The basidia are tubular, laterally septate, 50–75 × 3-6.5 μm. The spores are allantoid (sausage-shaped), 14.5–17 × 5–7 μm. The surface hairs are 650–1080 μm long.
= Similar species =
Auricularia cornea is similar but has much shorter surface hairs 200–400 μm long.
Habitat and distribution
References
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{{Taxonbar|from=Q81165513}}
Category:Fungi of South America