Stephanospora

Stephanospora is a genus of truffle-like gasteroid fungi in the order Agaricales. In 2014, nine new Australasian species were described from collections previously thought to represent S. flava.^[1]

Stephanospora
The cross section of a sporocarp from an unknown species of Stephanospora
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Agaricales
Family:	Stephanosporaceae
Genus:	Stephanospora Pat. (1914)
Type species
Stephanospora caroticolor (Berk.) Pat. (1914)

Taxonomy

Stephanospora was circumscribed by French mycologist Narcisse Théophile Patouillard in 1914 with S. caroticolor (formerly classified as a species of Hydnangium) as the type species.^[2]

Species

• S. aorangi Beever, Castellano & T.Lebel (2015)
• S. caroticolor (Berk.) Pat. (1914)
• S. chilensis (E.Horak) J.M.Vidal (2005) — South America, Europe^[3]
• S. corneri Pegler & T.W.K.Young (1979) — Singapore^[4]
• S. cribbae T.Lebel & Castellano (2015) — Australia
• S. flava (Rodway) G.W.Beaton, Pegler & T.W.K.Young (1985) — Australia, South Africa
• S. hystrispora T.Lebel & Castellano, (2015) — Australia
• S. kanuka T.Lebel & Castellano (2015) — New Zealand
• S. novae-caledoniae T.Lebel, Castellano & K.Hosaka (2015) — New Caledonia
• S. occidentiaustralis T.Lebel & Castellano (2015) — Australia
• S. papua T.Lebel & Castellano (2015) — Papua New Guinea
• S. penangensis Corner & Hawker (1953) — Peninsular Malaysia^[5]
• S. poropingao T.Lebel & Castellano (2015) — New Zealand
• S. pounamu T.Lebel & Castellano (2015) — New Zealand
• S. redolens (G.Cunn.) E.Horak (1979)
• S. sheoak T.Lebel & Castellano (2015) — Australia
• S. tetraspora T.Lebel, Beever & Castellano (2015) — Australia

Natural compounds

The "carrot truffle", Stephanospora caroticolor, contains the compound stephanosporin, a 2-chloro-4-nitrophenol precursor. The compound, which gives the fruitbody its orange colour, converts to the toxic 2-chloro-4-nitrophenolate when the fruitbody is injured.^[6]