| These photos are of the first documented collections
of C. japonica, a parasite of Elaphomyces, outside of Japan
and Australia. They were collected in Carter County in eastern Tennessee
and represent an important example of an east Asia - eastern North America
disjunct distribution in fungi. The species is characterized by direct attachment
to the Elaphomyces ascocarp, club-shaped stromata with olive-colored
clavae. Two collections made during the summer of 2000, one on E. muricatus
and one on E. anthracinus. The collection on E. anthracinus
was infected by a hyperparasite that we have not definitely identified.
All photos by Joey Spatafora |
