Coccomyces dentatus
| Coccomyces dentatus | |
|---|---|
_Sacc_199890.jpg) |
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| On a dead leaf of Dwarf Oregon-grape | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Subdivision: | Pezizomycotina |
| Class: | Leotiomycetes |
| Order: | Rhytismatales |
| Family: | Rhytismataceae |
| Genus: | Coccomyces |
| Species: | C. dentatus |
| Binomial name | |
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Coccomyces dentatus (Kunze & J.C.Schmidt) Sacc. (1877) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Phacidium dentatum J.C.Schmidt (1817) |
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Phacidium dentatum J.C.Schmidt (1817)
Lophodermium dentatum (J.C.Schmidt & Kunze) De Not. (1847)
Coccomyces dentatus is a species of fungus in the family Rhytismataceae. A widespread species, particularly in temperate areas, it colonizes the dead fallen leaves of vascular plants, particularly oak and chestnut. The fungus apothecia, which form in the epidermal layer of the leaf host, resemble dark hexagonal spots scattered on a multi-colored mosaic pattern bounded by thin black lines. When mature, the apothecia open by triangular flaps to release spores. The anamorph form of C. dentatus is Tricladiopsis flagelliformis. Lookalike species can be distinguished by the shape of the apothecia, or by microscopic characteristics.
The species was first described scientifically as Phacidium dentatum by Johann Karl Schmidt in 1817. Italian botanist Giuseppe De Notaris moved it to Lophodermium in 1847. In 1877, Pier Andrea Saccardo transferred it to Coccomyces, giving it its current name. The variety C. dentatus var. hexagonus, described by Otto Penzig and Saccardo from West Java, Indonesia in 1901, is sometimes applied to western US collections with large six-sided apothecia. However, its status is unclear, as the type is no longer in Saccardo's herbarium at the University of Padua, and Penzig's collection was destroyed during World War II. C. dentatus f. lauri was described by Heinrich Rehm in 1901, for a collection found growing on a species of Lauraceae in Rio Grande do Sul (southern Brazil). According to English botanist Martha Sherwood, who revised the genus Coccomyces in 1980, it is indistinguishable from the main type and should be considered synonymous.
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