Nettle Rust Puccinia urticata

[marksteer]

Mike,

Do you know what this one looks like on Sedges Carex? Any photos?

I’ve found on Nettles in my garden and Carex (unkown spp.) around me.

Mark

[Lancashire Lad]

Hi Mark,

I don’t yet have any photos of my own, showing it on Carex.

From what I understand, the P.urticata complex of several closely related species can (in the uredinial and telial stages) occur on several of the Carex species. (As mentioned here: – http://www.fungi.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=22#p147).

There is some info and a few photos on this page (scroll down to relevant part): –

http://www.bladmineerders.nl/gallen/fungi/puccinia/urticata/urticata.htm” class=”bbcode_url”>http://www.bladmineerders.nl/gallen/fungi/puccinia/urticata/urticata.htm

Regards,

Mike.

PS: That (dual language) website is exceptionally good for all types of plant galls – many of which are of fungal origin, and quite a few are rusts.

[marksteer]

Hi Mike,

Very much a beginner on Rusts but Nigel Stringer is giving me help.

I probably won’t be able to id local Carex spp. – not a Botanist! But I will keep a look out and try.

Good link – thanks!

Mark

[Lancashire Lad]

marksteer wrote:

Hi Mike,

Very much a beginner on Rusts but Nigel Stringer is giving me help.

I probably won’t be able to id local Carex spp. – not a Botanist! But I will keep a look out and try.

Good link – thanks!

Mark

There’s an interesting insight into Puccinia urticata in the response by Malcolm Storey, (from which I’ve extracted the following text), to a question on the British Plant Gall Society forum: –

QUOTE “. . . . Which brings us to Puccina urticata:

Puccinia urticata (Nettle Clustercup) is a group of rust varieties all with aecia on Nettle, but with telia on a different sedge hosts. Again, the individual varieties can only be morphologically distinguished when they’re on the sedge hosts.

Puccinia urticata var urticata would be the originally described member of this group. It was described under the name Aecidium urticatae – hence growing on Urtica so cannot be assigned to an individual variety.

Am not enough of a taxonomist to be sure of the nomenclatural niceties but it seems to me that either Puccinia urticata is a nomen confusum and should be replaced by the earliest name in the group – probably Puccinia urticae-acutae or that Puccinia urticata var urticata is just an empty name until such time as the type material (or a designated replacement) and can be DNA’d. . . “ UNQUOTE.

Source: –

https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/british_galls/conversations/messages/1342” class=”bbcode_url”>https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/british_galls/conversations/messages/1342

So, unless you happen to have the wherewithal for DNA sequencing , what is seen as “Puccinia urticata” clustercups on Nettle, is actually any one of several P. urticata varieties, which can only be identified to specific variety when found in the telial (and possibly uredinial?) stage on its particular Sedge host.

Regards,

Mike.

[marksteer]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for that. Who said Rusts are easy when you know the host species!!!

Mark

[adampembs]

marksteer wrote:

Hi Mike,

Thanks for that. Who said Rusts are easy when you know the host species!!!

Mark

It’s all relative. Compared to say Clitocybe, Cortinarius, Inocybe, Scutellinia, Peziza, Conocybe etc, they are easy. Just have to find it on the alternate host and identify a sedge (and I hold my hands up on that one!)…..

[Author]

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