Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 20, 2026

Dissoderma paradoxum

Dissoderma paradoxum, which has the recommended English name of powdercap strangler in the UK, is a species of fungus in the family Squamanitaceae. It is a parasitic fungus that grows on the fruit bodies of another fungus, Cystoderma amianthinum. It takes over the host and replaces the cap and gills with its own but retains the original stipe, creating in effect a hybrid between the two. The species was first described as Cystoderma paradoxum by American mycologists Alexander H. Smith and Rolf Singer in 1948, based on specimens collected in Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon. Cornelis Bas transferred the species to the genus Squamanita in 1965. Recent molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, has however shown that the species does not belong in Squamanita sensu stricto but in the related genus Dissoderma. The species occurs in both North America and Europe.

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Jun 20, 2026
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Dissoderma paradoxum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Agaricomycetes
Order: Agaricales
Family: Squamanitaceae
Genus: Dissoderma
Species:
D. paradoxum
Binomial name
Dissoderma paradoxum
(A.H.Sm. & Singer) Singer (1973)2
Synonyms

Cystoderma paradoxum A.H.Sm. & Singer (1948)3
Squamanita paradoxa (A.H.Sm. & Singer) Bas (1965)4

Dissoderma paradoxum, which has the recommended English name of powdercap strangler in the UK,5 is a species of fungus in the family Squamanitaceae. It is a parasitic fungus that grows on the fruit bodies of another fungus, Cystoderma amianthinum.6 It takes over the host and replaces the cap and gills with its own but retains the original stipe, creating in effect a hybrid between the two.7 The species was first described as Cystoderma paradoxum by American mycologists Alexander H. Smith and Rolf Singer in 1948, based on specimens collected in Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon.3 Cornelis Bas transferred the species to the genus Squamanita in 1965.4 Recent molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, has however shown that the species does not belong in Squamanita sensu stricto but in the related genus Dissoderma.6 The species occurs in both North America and Europe.6

References

References

  1. Gonçalves, S.C. (2025). "Squamanita paradoxa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2025 e.T125435415A125435690. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-1.RLTS.T125435415A125435690.en. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
  2. Singer R. (1973). "Diagnoses fungorum novorum Agaricalium III". Beihefte zur Sydowia. 7: 1–106 (see p. 69).
  3. Smith AH, Singer R. (1948). "Notes on the genus Cystoderma". Mycologia. 40 (4): 454–60. doi:10.2307/3755152. JSTOR 3755152.
  4. Bas C. (1965). "The genus Squamanita". Persoonia. 3: 331–59.
  5. Holden L. (April 2022). "English names for fungi 2022". British Mycological Society. Retrieved 2023-06-02.
  6. Saar I, Thorn RG, Nagasawa E, Henkel TW, Cooper JA (2022). "A phylogenetic overview of Squamanita, with descriptions of nine new species and four new combinations". Mycologia. 114 (4): 769–797. doi:10.1080/00275514.2022.2059639. PMID 35695889. S2CID 249623155.
  7. Sterry, Paul; Hughes, Barry (2009). Collins Complete Guide to British Mushrooms & Toadstools. HarperCollins.