Helicobasidium purpureum
| Helicobasidium purpureum | |
|---|---|
| Helicobasidium purpureum causing violet root rot on carrots | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Pucciniomycetes |
| Order: | Helicobasidiales |
| Family: | Helicobasidiaceae |
| Genus: | Helicobasidium |
| Species: | H. purpureum |
| Binomial name | |
| Helicobasidium purpureum Pat. (1885) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Corticium sanguineum var. lilacinum Quél. (1888) | |
Helicobasidium purpureum is a species of fungus in the subdivision Pucciniomycotina. Basidiocarps (fruit bodies) are corticioid (patch-forming) and are typically violet to purple. Microscopically they have auricularioid (laterally septate) basidia. Helicobasidium purpureum is an opportunistic plant pathogen and is one of the causes of violet root rot of crops and other plants. DNA sequencing suggests that it is a complex of more than one species. The species has a conidia-bearing anamorph in the Tuberculina persicina complex that is a parasite of rust fungi.