Rhamphospora nymphaeae
The Rhamphosporaceae is a family of fungi in the division Basidiomycota and order of Doassansiales. The monotypic family only contains 1 genus; Rhamphospora and just 1 species, Rhamphospora nymphaeae.
History
In 1888, Surgeon Major David Douglas Cunningham MD, was also the mycologist who originally found and described the fungus. It was found on the leaves of Nymphaea stellata, Nymphaea lotus and Nymphaea rubra, in West Bengal, India.The genus of Rhamphospora was named after the beak or bill known from Mexico, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Puerto Rico because of the beak-shaped appendages of its spores.
The monotypic family of Rhamphosporaceae was published later, by R. Bauer & Oberw. in 1997.
It is also known and classified as a smut fungi.
Description
Rhamphospora nymphaeae has sori in living leaf and stem tissues, which are scattered or gregarious and are yellowish brown or later they become reddish brown. The sori form ovoid or irregular shaped spots, about 1–7 mm long and they become larger by cell fusion.The solitary spores, become embedded in the host tissues, they are ellipsoidal but rarely broadly ellipsoidal or subglobose in shape. They have an with an apical papilla.
The hyphae is intracellular and the haustoria is present.
The teliospores are formed individually and are usually lemon-shaped, hyaline or pale yellow, and smooth or finely verruculose.
The teliospores are formed on the branches of fertile hyphae and germinating directly to form basidia.
The basidia are filiform, or cylindrical, septate with an apical cluster of 4–6 four celled fertile branches, which each give rise to 2–3 basidiospores.
They are produced subterminally, beaked, promycelium consisting of a long germinal tube with terminal branches bearing apical sporida.
The ramified basidiospores of Rhamphospora nymphaeae have enlarged surfaces, which could be used for dispersal in water.
Distribution
It has a widespread distribution, in north temperate and neotropic zones. Including places such as ; Canada, USA. In Central America, within Costa Rica, and Cuba. In Europe, within the countries of Finland, France, Germany, Romania, Switzerland and the UK. In Asia, within Japan, Korea, China and India, and also in Australasia, within New Zealand.Hosts
Rhamphospora nymphaeae causes necrotic stem and leaf spots on members of the Nymphaeaceae family in freshwater habitats. Such as Nuphar advena , Nymphaea alba, Nymphaea ampla, Nymphaea odorata, Nymphaea stellata, Nymphaea tetragona, and Nymphaea tuberosaNymphaea tetragona was recorded as host plant of this smut fungus from Japan in 1953.