Crucibulum
| Crucibulum | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Crucibulum laeve | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: | Nidulariaceae |
| Genus: |
Crucibulum Tul. & C.Tul. (1844) |
| Type species | |
|
Crucibulum laeve (Huds.) Kambly (1936) |
|
| Species | |
| Crucibulum | |
|---|---|
| Mycological characteristics | |
 |
glebal hymenium |
 |
cap is infundibuliform |
 |
hymenium attachment is not applicable |
|
lacks a stipe |
 |
ecology is saprotrophic |
 |
edibility: inedible |
Crucibulum cyathiforme
Crucibulum laeve
Crucibulum parvulum
Crucibulum is a genus in the Nidulariaceae, a family of fungi whose fruiting bodies resemble tiny egg-filled bird's nests. Often called "splash cups", the fruiting bodies are adapted for spore dispersal by using the kinetic energy of falling drops of rain. The "eggs" inside the bird's nests (technically known as peridioles) are hard waxy shells containing spores, and tend to stick to whatever nearby they land on, thus increasing the odds of being consumed and dispersed by herbivorous animals. Members of this genus are saprobic, obtaining nutrients from dead organic matter, and are typically found growing on decayed wood and wood debris. The three known Crucibulum species (C. laeve, C. parvulum, and C. cyathiforme) are distinguished from other genera of the Nidulariaceae by their relatively simple funiculus – a cord of hyphae that connects the peridiole (the "eggs") to the exterior of the bird's nest.
Bird's nest fungi were first mentioned by Flemish botanist Carolus Clusius in Rariorum plantarum historia (1601). Over the next couple of centuries, these fungi were the subject of some controversy regarding whether the peridioles were seeds, and the mechanism by which they were dispersed in nature. For example, the French botanist Jean-Jacques Paulet, in his work Traité des champignons (1790–3), erroneously suggested that peridioles were ejected from the fruiting bodies by some sort of spring mechanism.
The structure and biology of the genus Crucibulum was better known by the mid-19th century, when the brothers Louis René and Charles Tulasne published a monograph on the bird's nest fungi. Subsequently, monographs were written in 1902 by Violet S. White (American species),Curtis Gates Lloyd in 1906,Gordon Herriot Cunningham in 1924 (New Zealand species), and Harold J. Brodie in 1975.
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