Pyropyxis
Genus of fungi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pyropyxis is a genus of fungi in the family Pyronemataceae. It was circumscribed in 1984 by Keith Egger, to contain the single species Pyropyxis rubra.[1] This species was originally described by Charles Horton Peck in 1872 as a species of Peziza.[2] The genus name, said to be derived from the Greek word for "fire" (pyros) and the Latin word pyxis, refers to the segregation of this species from the genus Geopyxis.[1] The proper word in ancient Greek for "fire" is however pyr (πῦρ).[3]
| Pyropyxis | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Pezizomycetes |
| Order: | Pezizales |
| Family: | Pyronemataceae |
| Genus: | Pyropyxis Egger (1984) |
| Type species | |
| Pyropyxis rubra (Peck) Egger (1984) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Fruit bodies of the fungus are cup shaped, with a pink to reddish-orange color. Pyropyxis rubra has a Dichobotrys anamorph. The species is found in North America, where it grows as a saprophyte on burned forest litter in both mixed and deciduous forests.[1]
