Sparassidaceae | |
---|---|
Sparassis crispa, edible member of the Sparassidaceae | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | |
Division: | |
Class: | |
Order: | |
Family: | Sparassidaceae Herter (1910)
|
Type genus | |
Sparassis Fr. (1819)
| |
Genera | |
The Sparassidaceae are a family of fungi in the order Polyporales. The family was circumscribed by German botanist Wilhelm Herter in 1910 to contain the genus Sparassis.[1] Sparassiella was added to the family in 1964.[2] As of April 2018[update], Index Fungorum accepts 10 species in the Sparassidaceae.[3]
The fruit bodies of Sparassidaceae fungi consist of branched, fan-shaped segments that originate from a central core. The hyphal system is monomitic, with gloeoplerous hyphae (containing oil droplets). These hyphae have scattered clamp connections. The spores are smooth, thin- to somewhat thick-walled, and hyaline (translucent). Cystidia are mostly absent from the hymenium. Sparassidaceae fungi cause brown rot.[4]