Nectria peziza or yellow spot is an ascomycete fungus with bright yellow to orange globose fruiting bodies (0.2 – 0.4 mm across) found on rotting polypores, well rotted deadwood, bark, dung, and decaying cloth.Phillips, Page 377peziza&organismtype=Fungus&fromAllCount=yes Agriculture Research Service Retrieved : 2010-10-22 Its globular fruiting bodies (peritheca), quite large for the genus, may be isolated or crowded; they have a slightly prominent black dot at the top, the ostiolum, this being the entrance to the inner cavity;Geograph Retrieved : 2010-10-22 the bodies often collapse into a cup-shape when dry and the colour fades to pale yellow or whitish.
Synonyms This fungus has an unusually large number of previous binomials, such as – Sphaeria peziza (1791); Hydropisphaera peziza (1822); Dialonectria peziza (1884); Cucurbitaria peziza (1898); Neuronectria peziza (1957); Byssonectria bryophila (1985); Sphaeria aurea (1823); Nectria aurea (1879); Dialonectria aurea (1884); Cucurbitaria aurea (1898); Byssonectria epigaea; and Nectria epigaea (1879).Index Fungorum Retrieved : 2010-10-22
Classification Nectra peziza belongs to the order Hypocreales within the class Sordariomycetes, usually recognized by their brightly coloured (usually red, orange or yellow), perithecial ascomata, or spore-producing structures.
Distribution Nectria peziza has been recorded from Africa (Seychelles); Asia (Japan, Pakistan); Caribbean Islands (Bermuda); Europe (Denmark, Germany); North America (USA, Canada); and New Zealand. It is recorded as growing on a wide range of tree species. In the British Isles it has a wide range of distribution and has been found in England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Retrieved : 2010-10-25NBN Database Retrieved : 2010-10-22. N. peziza has even been found in Antarctica, growing in the Windmill Island group.Polar News. Retrieved : 2010-10-22
See also Nectria cinnabarina - a closely related and more common species.
References Notes
Sources Phillips, Roger (2006), Mushrooms. London : MacMillan, .
External links
The Virtual Field Guide. The National Biodiversity Network Gateway.