The new genus Lawrynomyces is proposed to accommodate Hyphoderma capitatum, a predominantly European species growing on decayed coniferous wood. The genus belongs to the Rickenella-clade in the order ...Hymenochaetales, and it includes species characterized by resupinate basidiomes, monomitic hyphal system with simple septate hyphae, presence of cystidia and hyphidia, suburniform to subcylindrical, pedunculate basidia, and subglobose to broadly ellipsoid basidiospores with slightly thickened walls not staining in Melzer's reagent or Cotton Blue. Published molecular data support the recognition of a distinct genus for Hyphoderma capitatum.
The paper discusses three corticioid species of the genus Vararia P. Karst. Two species, Vararia gallica (Bourdot & Galzin) Boidin and Vararia ochroleuca (Bourdot & Galzin) Donk, are reported from ...Poland for the first time. The cosmopolitan species Vararia investiens P. Karst., previously known only from one Polish record, was rediscovered after over 100 years since the previous Polish collection. Macro- and micromorphological characters of the Polish collections are described and illustrated. The knowledge of their distribution and ecology is briefly summarized. A key to European members of the genus is given.
Mushroom-forming fungi (Agaricomycetes) have the greatest morphological diversity and complexity of any group of fungi. They have radiated into most niches and fulfil diverse roles in the ecosystem, ...including wood decomposers, pathogens or mycorrhizal mutualists. Despite the importance of mushroom-forming fungi, large-scale patterns of their evolutionary history are poorly known, in part due to the lack of a comprehensive and dated molecular phylogeny. Here, using multigene and genome-based data, we assemble a 5,284-species phylogenetic tree and infer ages and broad patterns of speciation/extinction and morphological innovation in mushroom-forming fungi. Agaricomycetes started a rapid class-wide radiation in the Jurassic, coinciding with the spread of (sub)tropical coniferous forests and a warming climate. A possible mass extinction, several clade-specific adaptive radiations and morphological diversification of fruiting bodies followed during the Cretaceous and the Paleogene, convergently giving rise to the classic toadstool morphology, with a cap, stalk and gills (pileate-stipitate morphology). This morphology is associated with increased rates of lineage diversification, suggesting it represents a key innovation in the evolution of mushroom-forming fungi. The increase in mushroom diversity started during the Mesozoic-Cenozoic radiation event, an era of humid climate when terrestrial communities dominated by gymnosperms and reptiles were also expanding.
The paper presents information about Xylaria oxyacanthae Tul. & C. Tul., a new species for Poland. The fungus was for the first time found in the mid-field shelterbelt near Turew village and in the ...city park in Kraków.
The Białowieża Forest (BF) is one of the best-preserved lowland deciduous and mixed forest complexes in Europe, rich in diverse fungi. This paper summarizes what is known about the poroid fungi of ...the Polish part of the Białowieża Forest, based on literature data, a re-examination of herbarium materials, and the authors’ studies from 1990–2014. An annotated catalogue of polypores recorded in the forest is presented, including 80 genera with 210 species. All literature and herbarium records are enumerated, and 160 species are illustrated with color pictures. Fourteen species previously reported in the literature have uncertain status because they lack voucher specimens and were not confirmed in recent field studies.
(Pilát) Niemelä & Miettinen, previously known from Asia, is reported for the first time from Europe. Fourteen species are newly reported from the Białowieża Forest (mainly from Białowieża National Park), including 8 species with first records in Poland (
Spirin, Miettinen & Kotir.,
Renvall & Niemelä,
,
(Peck) Ryvarden,
(Kotl. & Vampola) Niemelä & Vampola,
(Pilát
Pilát) Boulet,
Niemelä,
papyracea A. David), and 6 species reported previously from other localities in Poland
Vampola & Pouzar,
(Quél.) Domański & Orlicz,
(Berk. & M. A. Curtis) Jülich,
(Durieu & Mont.) Donk,
(Pilát) Pouzar,
(Fr.) P. Karst.. Several very rare European polypores already reported from the Białowieża Forest in the 20
century, such as
(Romell) Ryvarden,
(Nikol.) Gilb. & Ryvarden,
(Pers.) Donk,
(Domański) Domański and
(Pilát) Niemelä, were found at new localities, confirming their continuous occurrence in this forest.
The order Ceraceosorales (Ustilaginomycotina) currently includes the single genus
Ceraceosorus
, with one species,
Ceraceosorus bombacis
, parasitic on
Bombax ceiba
in India. The diversity, ...biogeography, evolution, and phylogenetic relationships of this order are still relatively unknown. Here, a second species of
Ceraceosorus
is described from West Africa as a novel species,
Ceraceosorus africanus
, infecting
Bombax costatum
in Benin, Ghana, and Togo. This species produces conspicuous fructifications, similar to corticioid basidiomata when mature, but sorus-like in early stages of ontogenetic development. The fructifications cover much of the leaf surface and resemble leaf blight. This contrasts with the inconspicuous fructifications of
C. bombacis
comprising small spots scattered over the lower leaf surface that resemble leaf spot. Both species of
Ceraceosorus
differ in several micromorphological traits, infect different host plant species in widely separated geographical areas, and are separated by a considerable genetic distance in 28S rDNA and RPB2 genes. The distinct corticioid fructification of
C. africanus
is a unique morphological trait within the Ustilaginomycotina. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of a single gene dataset (D1/D2 28S rDNA) supported the monophyly of the two
Ceraceosorus
species and the Ceraceosorales and their placement within the Ustilaginomycotina. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of a multigene dataset (18S/5.8S/28S rDNA/RPB2/TEF1) revealed
Exobasidium rhododendri
(Exobasidiales) as the closest relative of
Ceraceosorus
, both clustering together with
Entyloma calendulae
(Entylomatales), indicating affinities to the Exobasidiomycetes. This phylogenetic placement is in agreement with ultrastructural characteristics (presence of local interaction zone and interaction apparatus) reported for the Ceraceosorales, Entylomatales, and Exobasidiales.
A new genus, Anthoporia Karasiński & Niemelä, is proposed for the brown-rot polypore Polyporus albobrunneus Romell = Antrodia albobrunnea (Romell) Ryvarden. The new genus is separated from Antrodia ...P. Karst. s.str. in several morphological features, and it is only distantly related to Antrodia serpens (Fr.) P. Karst. (generic type of Antrodia) in recently published phylogenies. Additionally, Anthoporia albobrunnea (Romell) Karasiński & Niemelä is described and illustrated based on material collected in Białowieża National Park in northeastern Poland.
Antarctica’s severe climate and its geographical isolation are the factors that hinder the arrival of non-native species by natural means. However, the movement of people and cargo associated with ...national scientific programs and tourism render Antarctica much more accessible to exotic organisms. Both the transport routes and carriers are varied. The wide range of uses to which timber is put means that it is readily freighted to Antarctic stations. However, it can harbor numerous alien organisms. All the timber materials transported to the “Arctowski” station for the 32nd Polish Antarctic Expedition in the 2007/2008 season were scanned as a potential vector for alien species. This study focuses on the non-lichenized fungi and insects which were found on the timber. Four species of perithecia-forming Ascomycota, five species of corticioid and polyporoid Basidiomycota, four unidentified basidiomycetes taxa in form of sterile mycelia, and two insects belonging to Cerambycidae, were detected. Most of these ‘hitch-hikers’ were connected with the untreated parts of the timber. Their enduring survival in harsh Antarctic conditions is regarded as highly improbable. Nevertheless, some ascocarps frequently contained vital spores, and live insect larvae and imago were found in hibernation. The results also emphasize that such organisms can be accidentally transported to Antarctica and that the elementary rules for the eventual safe transport of non-infected goods should be obeyed and respected.
The family Auriscalpiaceae (Russulales) includes species forming pileate, stipitate-pileate, effused-reflexed, and resupinate basidiomata. The resupinate basidiomata are characteristic only for the ...genus
Dentipratulum
, described to accommodate
Dentipratulum bialoviesense
, found in the Białowieża Primeval Forest in Poland and later reported from several locations in Eurasia. The materials assigned to this genus were revised and three distinct morphospecies were detected, including
Dentipratulum bialoviesense
s. str. and two new species,
Dentipratulum khuranae
from India and
Dentipratulum crystallinum
from the Kuril Islands and France. The concept of the genus
Dentipratulum
is emended to include characters omitted in the original diagnosis (stem-like base of spines, rudimentary subiculum) and found in the novel species (presence of naked or encrusted leptocystidia). All
Dentipratulum
species are illustrated with pictures of basidiomata, line drawings of micro-morphological characters, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs of basidiospores. A key to the genus is provided.