Frances F. Lombard

A cultural study of several species of Antrodia (Polyporaceae, Aphyllophorales)

Cultural characteristics of five species ofAntrodia are described: A. gossypia, A. juniperina, A. odora, A. sitchensis, and A. sordida. Each causes a brown-rot decay of conifers. Key patterns and species codes are given for each. Additional data are also provided for six other species ofAntrodia.

Studies on Some Western Porias with Negative or Weak Oxidase Reactions

Among the many fungi causing decay of dead timber in western North America are a number of species of Poria that, in pure culture, give negative or weak oxidase reactions. Most of these are associated with brown cubical rots, but a few are associated with white rots. This paper gives descriptive data on cultures, basidiocarps, associated rots, substrata, and distributions of 14 species. The species described here occur in the area including the states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, and Yukon Territory and the western portion of the Northwest Territories. In North America Poria albobrunnea (Rom.) Baxter is limited to this area, although it also occurs in northern Europe. The other species are more widely distributed. Distribution and substrata records for the basidiocarps include only those for the western areas noted above. With some exceptions taxonomic studies of wood-rotting Hymenomycetes have traditionally been based entirely on the morphology of the basidiocarps. Similarly, cultural studies have frequently been carried out without accompanying data on basidiocarp morphology. In future efforts to elucidate the phylogeny of the Hymenomycetes, it is likely that both cultural and basidiocarp characteristics will play important and complementary roles. Cultural studies should be based on isolates obtained from basidiocarps that have been reliably identified and preserved for future reference. On the other hand, species similar in basidiocarp morphology may be differentiated in culture by differences in vegetative growth of dicaryotic isolates or by interfertility tests carried out with monosporous isolates. Recent work by Nobles (20) has

HAWAIIAN FOREST FUNGI V. A NEW SPECIES OF PHELLINUS (HYMENOCHAETACEAE) CAUSING DECAY OF CASUARINA AND ACACIA

A previously undescribed species, Phellinus kawakamii, is reported to cause decay of heartwood in the butt portion of trees of Acacia koa var. koa, A. koaia, and Casuarina equisetifolia on Kauai, Oahu, and Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands. Limited surveys, based on the occurrence of basidiocarps, indicate that at least 28-33% ofthe Casuarina trees and 12% of the Acacia koa var. koa trees examined are affected by the fungus. Although the fungus causes a white pocket-rot in all species, the morphology of the rot differs noticeably between Casuarina and the two Acacia spp. The fungal flora of Hawaii associated with wood decay has received little attention. Burt (1923) reported approximately 50 taxa of wood-inhabiting fungi based on collections made by F. L. Stevens and C. N. Forbes, more than half of which were polypores. Bega (1979), while investigating deterioration of Acacia koa Gray, found the heart and root rot fungi Armillaria mellea (Vahl: Fr.) Quel., Laetiporus sulphureus (Bull. :Fr.) Bond. et Sing., Phaeolus schweinitzii (Fr.) Pat., Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq.: Fr.) Quel., and a species of Ganoderma. Ueki and Smith (1973) noted several species of Crepidotus that occur on woody substrates in Hawaii. Kennedy and Goos (1983) reported five wood-inhabiting species of the Dacrymycetaceae. Our purpose here is to describe a previously unknown species of Phellinus which causes heartwood decay of Casuarina equisetifolia L., Acacia koa var. koa, and A. koaia Hillebr.

On the Identity of Polyporus Lacteus

A white species of Tyromyces with a wide distribution in the Northern Hemisphere, with a disagreeable taste, and the cause of a brown rot of the wood of both angiosperms and gymnosperms, is proposed as the original concept of Polyporus lacteus Fr. It is considered specifically distinct from the morphologically similar T. tephroleucus which is mild in taste and causes a white rot. Descriptions of the basidiocarp and cultures are given.

Fungi causing decay in wooden boats.

In a survey of decay in boats (5), started in 1941, an attempt was made to isolate and identify the fungus involved in each case investigated. Decay fungi were obtained from about one-third of the samples from which isolations were attempted. In many instances the fungus was inactive in the selected wood sample or molds had invaded the decayed wood so completely that the fungus causing the damage could not be isolated. In some samples the fungus obtained may not have been the cause of the principal damage but in general those fungi recovered most frequently are believed to be among the more important species causing decay. Certain fungi, such as Poria incrassata (Berk. & Curt.) Burt, which die rather quickly on drying (10), probably were involved in some cases of extensive damage although they were not identified during this limited survey. A more exhaustive study would result in obtaining additional species.

The status of Meripilus giganteus (Aphyllophorales, Polyporaceae) in North America

The status of the species names Meripilus giganteus, Grifola lentifondosa, and G. sumstinei is reviewed with regard to synonymy. Data from studies of nomenclatural types by light and scanning electron microscopy indicate that they represent three distinct species. Data from studies of cultures of M. giganteus and G. sumstinei also indicate that these two names represent separate taxa. Meripilus giganteus and G. sumstinei are typified. The new combinations, Meripilus sumstinei and Meripilus lentifrondosa, are proposed. We conclude that M. giganteus does not occur in North America. A key to the species of Meripilus is provided, and pathogenicity and edibility of M. giganteus and M. sumstinei are discussed.

REASSESSMENT OF THE SEXUAL IMCOMPATIBILITY SYSTEM AND CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BJERKANDERA FUMOSA

The sexual incompatibility system of Bjerkandera fumosa was determined to be unifactorial and not bifactorial as previously reported. Mon-mon and di-mon confrontations among and between North American and European isolates proved to be compatible. A revised cultural description of B. fumosa is provided. Bjerkandera fumosa (Pers.: Fr.) Karst. (Polyporaceae) is a well-known and easily recognized wood-rotting fungus that is widely distributed throughout temperate forested regions of the world. Although normally associated with a distinct white rot of dead or dying angiospermous substrates, B. fumosa occasionally occurs on gymnospermous wood (Overholts, 1953; Gilbertson and Ryvarden, 1986). The cultural characteristics of B. fumosa have been documented by Nobles (1948, 1965) and Stalpers (1978). The incompatibility system was reported to be bifactorial by Mounce (1935), Nobles et al. (1957), Nobles (1965), and Stalpers (1978). Some inconsistencies exist between our data on B. fumosa and those in the literature; therefore, we initiated a study to reexamine the incompatibility system of B. fumosa, to examine the compatibility between North American and European populations, and to reassess the cultural characteristics of the species.

A CULTURAL STUDY OF PIPTOPORUS SOLONIENSIS (APHYLLOPHORALES, POLYPORACEAE)

Piptoporus soloniensis causes a butt rot of oaks in the United States. The basidiocarps superficially resemble those of Laetiporus sulphureus, although cultures of the two species are readily distinguishable. Cultural characters of P. soloniensis are given and compared to those of L. sulphureus.

FIBROPORIA ANGULOPORA, A NEW SPECIES (APHYLLOPHORALES, POLYPORACEAE) ASSOCIATED WITH BROWN-ROT OF PSEUDOTSUGA MENZIESII RESIDUE IN WESTERN OREGON

A new wood-inhabiting basidiomycete, Fibroporia angulopora, is described from the Cascade Mountains in western Oregon. The fungus is associated with a brown-rot decay of Douglas-fir residue in old growth stands. Characteristics derived from studies of fruiting bodies and cultures are presented and incompatibility system (mating type) determined. The generic position of F. angulopora is discussed with reference to Fibuloporia and Strangulidium. In a recent survey of wood-rotting fungi, Gilbertson (1980, 1981) estimated that only 6% of the number of recorded or known species of wood-rotting fungi (approximately 1700) are associated with or known to cause the brown-rot type of decay. This paucity of numbers of brown-rot fungi is extraordinary when the impact they have on conifer biomass decomposition is considered. Furthermore, the importance of the degradative product of these fungi cannot be underestimated. Brown-rotted wood in conifer ecosystems serves numerous and significant ecological functions: e.g., an important site for ectomycorrhizae formation, dinitrogen fixation, a moisture reservoir during dry periods, and a nutrient sink

Studies of two species of Phellinus in Western North America

The original description ofFomes occidentalis Overh, is validated by a Latin diagnosis. The new combinationsPhellinus occidentalis andPhellinus repandus are proposed. These fungi are known only from western North America. Morphological characters of basidiocarps and cultures of the two species are given with data on their distribution, substratum relationships, associated rot, and relation to similar species.