Nidulariaceae
| Nidulariaceae | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Bird's nest fungi, Crucibulum laeve | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Agaricomycetes |
| Order: | Agaricales |
| Family: |
Nidulariaceae Dumort. (1822) |
| Genera | |
| Nidulariaceae | |
|---|---|
| Mycological characteristics | |
 |
glebal hymenium |
 |
cap is infundibuliform |
 |
hymenium attachment is not applicable |
|
lacks a stipe |
 |
spore print is brown |
 |
ecology is saprotrophic |
 |
edibility: inedible |
Crucibulum
Cyathus
Mycocalia
Nidula
Nidularia
The Nidulariaceae ('nidulus' - small nest) are a family of fungi in the order Nidulariales. Commonly known as the bird's nest fungi, their fruiting bodies resemble tiny egg-filled birds' nests. As they are saprobic, feeding on decomposing organic matter, they are often seen growing on decaying wood and in soils enriched with wood chips or bark mulch; they have a widespread distribution in most ecological regions. The five genera within the family, namely, Crucibulum, Cyathus, Mycocalia, Nidula, and Nidularia, are distinguished from each other by differences in morphology and peridiole structure; more recently, phylogenetic analysis and comparison of DNA sequences is guiding new decisions in the taxonomic organization of this family.
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), proposed the erroneous notion that peridioles were ejected from the fruiting bodies by some sort of spring mechanism.
The Nidulariaceae have a gasteroid fruiting body, meaning that the spores develop internally, as in an angiocarp. Fruiting bodies are typically gregarious (growing together in groups, but not joined together). Young fruiting bodies are initially covered by a thin membrane that dehisces irregularly or by a circumscissile split, in a circular line around the circumference of the cup opening. Fruiting bodies (also called peridia) are small, generally between 5–15 mm wide and 4–8 mm high, urn- or vase-shaped, and contain one to several disc-shaped peridioles that resemble tiny eggs. This fungus is inedible.
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