Wikipedia:Today's featured article/July 8, 2012

Dendrocollybia is a genus of fungus in the family Tricholomataceae of the order Agaricales. It consists of the single species Dendrocollybia racemosa, a somewhat rare fungus found in the Northern Hemisphere, including the Pacific Northwest region of western North America, and Europe. It usually grows on the decaying fruit bodies of other agarics—such as Lactarius and Russula—although the host mushrooms may be decayed to the point of being difficult to recognize. Dendrocollybia racemosa fruit bodies have small pale grayish-white or grayish-brown caps and thin stems. The species is characterized by its unusual stem, which is covered with short lateral branches. The branches often produce spherical slimeheads of translucent conidiophores on their swollen tips. The conidiophores produce conidia (asexual spores) by mitosis. Because the fungus can rely on either sexual or asexual modes of reproduction, fruit bodies sometimes have reduced or even missing caps. The unusual stems originate from black pea-sized structures called sclerotia. It can reproduce at relatively low temperatures, an adaptation believed to improve its ability to grow quickly and fruit on decomposing mushrooms. (more...)

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