Fungalpedia – Note 2568, Odontia

 

Odontia. Pers.

Citation when using this data: Boonmee S et al. 2021 – Fungalpedia.

Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Figs 1, 2

Classification: Thelephoraceae, Thelephorales, Incertae sedis, Agaricomycetes, Agaricomycotina, Basidiomycota, Fungi

Notes: Odontia was introduced by Persoon (1794) with the type species O. ferruginea Pers. Odontia had been considered to be a synonym of Tomentella. However, recent phylogenetic analyses revealed that Odontia was in a monophyletic position close to Tomentella, and the species were generally collected in old forests possessing a saprotrophic lifestyle compared with an ectomycorrhizal one (Gorjó nand Greslebin 2012; Tedersoo et al. 2014). The general characteristics of the genus are: resupinate and arachnoid basidiomata which are separable from the substrate, smooth to granulose or hydnoid hymenophoral surface, a dimitic hyphal system in the rhizomorphs, a monomitic or dimitic hyphal system in the subiculum, clavate basidia and irregular ellipsoid to globose verruculose basidiospores (Kõljalg 1996; Yuan et al. 2018). The species of Odontia were reported to be spread over temperate Eurasia, North America, Africa, France, Australia, New Zealand, China and Turkey (Rodway 1897; Larsen 1974; Kõljalg 1996; Kõljalg and Larsson 1998; Gorjó nand Greslebin 2012; Tedersoo et al. 2014; Yuan et al. 2018).

Type species: Odontia ferruginea Pers., Neues Mag. Bot. 1: 110 (1794).

Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Odontia.

 

 

Figure 1 – Odontia huanrenensis (Yuan 10663, holotype): Basidiomata.

 

 

Figure 2 – Odontia huanrenensis (Yuan 10663, holotype): SEM of basidiospores.

 

References

Gorjón SP, Greslebin AG 2012 – Type studies of the species of Odontia described by GH Cunningham. NZ J Bot 50:289–301.

Kõljalg U 1996 – Tomentella (Basidiomycota) and related genera in temperate Eurasia. Synopsis Fungorum 9:1–213.

Kõljalg U, Larsson E (1998) Pseudotomentella ochracea sp. nov., based on morphological and molecular data. Folia Cryptog Estonica 33:53–56.

Larsen MJ 1974 – A contribution to the taxonomy of the genus Tomentella. Mycologia Memoir, p 145.

Persoon CH 1794 – Neuer Versuch einer systematischen Einteilung der Schwämme. Neues Mag Bot 1:63–128.

Rodway L 1897 – Tasmanian fungi. Paper presented at the papers & Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania.

Tedersoo L, Harend H, Buegger F, Pritsch K, Saar I, Kõljalg U 2014 – Stable isotope analysis, field observations and synthesis experiments suggest that Odontia is a non-mycorrhizal sister genus of Tomentella and Thelephora. Fungal Ecol 11:80–90.

Yuan Y, Wu F, Dai YC, Qin WM, Yuan HS 2018 – Odontia aculeata and O. sparsa, two new species of tomentelloid fungi (Thelephorales, Basidiomycota) from the secondary forests of northeast China. Phytotaxa 372:183–192.

 

Entry by

Saranyaphat Boonmee, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, 57100, Thailand, School of Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, 57100, Thailand

 

Published online 6 June 2026