Francisco D. Calonge

The diversity of Terfezia desert truffles: new species and a highly variable species complex with intrasporocarpic nrDNA ITS heterogeneity

Desert truffles belonging to Terfezia are well known mycorrhizal members of the mycota of the Mediterranean region and the Middle East. We aimed to test (i) whether the morphological criteria of Terfezia species regularly collected in Spain enable their separation and (ii) whether the previously hypothesized edaphic/biotic specificity of one group could be confirmed by study of a larger number of specimens. The species T. arenaria and T. claveryi can be identified unambiguously by morphological characters. We consider T. leptoderma as a distinct species while several lineages of similar spiny spored Terfezia truffles with cellular peridium were detected that have no obvious anatomical differences. Several species treated generally as synonyms of T. olbiensis have been described in this group, and because they cannot be unambiguously assigned to separate lineages we propose to consider the group as the T. olbiensis species complex. A high level of intrasporocarpic variation of the nrDNA ITS was detected in the T. olbiensis species complex, especially in one of its lineages. We detected no exclusive specificity to either plant associates or soil, except in T. leptoderma, which was associated with Quercus spp. and cistaceous plants on acidic soils. Nevertheless the clades showed a tendency either to associate with Quercus/Helianthemum/Cistus or Pinus hosts. Specimens having distinct anatomical features, reticulate spores and cellular peridium formed a separate group in the molecular phylogenetic analyses of nrDNA ITS and LSU regions; for these specimens we propose a new species, Terfezia alsheikhii sp. nov.

The diversity of Terfezia desert truffles: new species and a highly variable

Desert truffles belonging to Terfezia are well known mycorrhizal members of the mycota of the Mediterranean region and the Middle East. We aimed to test (i) whether the morphological criteria of Terfezia species regularly collected in Spain enable their separation and (ii) whether the previously hypothesized edaphic/biotic specificity of one group could be confirmed by study of a larger number of specimens. The species T. arenaria and T. claveryi can be identified unambiguously by morphological characters. We consider T. leptoderma as a distinct species while several lineages of similar spiny spored Terfezia truffles with cellular peridium were detected that have no obvious anatomical differences. Several species treated generally as synonyms of T. olbiensis have been described in this group, and because they cannot be unambiguously assigned to separate lineages we propose to consider the group as the T. olbiensis species complex. A high level of intrasporocarpic variation of the nrDNA ITS was detected in the T. olbiensis species complex, especially in one of its lineages. We detected no exclusive specificity to either plant associates or soil, except in T. leptoderma, which was associated with Quercus spp. and cistaceous plants on acidic soils. Nevertheless the clades showed a tendency either to associate with Quercus/Helianthemum/Cistus or Pinus hosts. Specimens having distinct anatomical features, reticulate spores and cellular peridium formed a separate group in the molecular phylogenetic analyses of nrDNA ITS and LSU regions; for these specimens we propose a new species, Terfezia alsheikhii sp. nov.

Geastrum pleosporus sp. nov., a new species of Geastraceae identified by morphological and molecular phylogenetic data

An unusual species of Geastrum was found growing on decayed wood debris and leaves of Triplochiton scleroxylon in the Mbalmayo Forest Reserve, Cameroon. The species morphologically resembles G. saccatum and G. fimbriatum in having sessile endosperidium partly enclosed by the saccate base of the exoperidium. Microscopically, it is characterized by and distinguished from all other known species of the genus, in having subsmooth, punctate to moderately verruculose, slightly thick-to distinctly thick-walled polymorphous, constricted to eight-shaped, mostly oblong, ovoid, cylindrical, elliptic to clubshaped basidiospores. G. pleosporus was studied from a collection of about fifteen basidiomata covering different stages of development. It is described as new based on morphological analyses and phylogenetic inferences made from large ribosomal DNA sequence alignments. Phylogenetic relationship of G. pleosporus is investigated. In parsimony analyses of partial sequences of the large subunit rDNA from selected Gasteromycetes species, G. pleosporus is closely related to G. saccatum within the strongly supported clade of Geastrum species. The cluster of G. pleosporus and G. saccatum is well supported in parsimony analysis of the dataset with Geastrum species and related taxa using parsimony and maximum likelihood analysis.

New distributional data on Geastrum (Geastraceae, Basidiomycota) from Brazil

The data presented in this article are the results of field collections and the analysis of fungal specimens deposited in the URM Herbarium. The field trips were carried out in four Atlantic Forest remnants in the state of Pernambuco, between June 2008 and May 2009. The revision of specimens housed in the URM was restricted to the Brazilian exsiccatae. Geastrum specimens were examined macro- and microscopically following the traditional methodology used in the group. Geastrum javanicum and G. lloydianum are new records from the Northeastern Region of Brazil. Eight species are new records from the following states: Para (G. fimbriatum), Ceara (G. lloydianum), Paraiba (G. fimbriatum, G. javanicum, G. schweinitzii and G. entomophilum), Pernambuco (G. lageniforme and G. triplex) and Rio de Janeiro (G. javanicum). In this article we present full descriptions for ten species of Geastrum with pictures and an identification key.

Aseroe floriformis, a new phalliod with a sunflower-shaped receptacle

Trabajo presentado en el VII Workshop on Biocatalysis and Biotransformations - 1o Simposio Latinoamericano de Biocatalisis y Biotransformaciones, celebrado en Buzios (Brasil) del 23 al 26 de septiembre de 2014.Trabajo presentado en el 10o Congreso de la Asociacion Iberica de Endocrinologia Comparada, celebrado en Castellon del 23 al 25 de septiembre de 2015.Oral presentation given at the XVI International Clay Conference, held in Granada (Spain) on July 17-21, 2017.Trabajo presentado en el 14th Biennial Meeting: Mineral Resources to Discover, celebrado en Quebec (Canada), del 20 al 23 de agosto de 2017Tesis presentada al programa de doctorado en Fisica del Departamento de Fisica de la Universidad Federal de Pernambuco para la obtencion del titulo de Doctor en Fisica.

Integrative taxonomy reveals an unexpected diversity in Geastrum section Geastrum (Geastrales, Basidiomycota)

A revision of the classification of Geastrum sect. Geastrum is presented on the basis of an integrative taxonomic approach, which involves the study of morphological, molecular, ecological, and chorological data. Four DNA regions are analysed: the ITS and LSU nrDNA, rpb1, and atp6. Phylogenetic reconstructions include 95 ingroup samples and show five main clades, which are considered as five subsections, one of them proposed as new (G. subsect. Hungarica), and a total of 27 lineages recognizable at species level. Discriminant function analyses, ANOVAs and Tukey’s HSD tests on more than 500 basidiomata reveal the utility of several quantitative morphological characters for species delimitation. As a result of the combination of the different sources of taxonomic information, a revised taxonomy is presented and seven new species, viz., G. austrominimum, G. benitoi, G. britannicum, G. kuharii, G. meridionale, G. papinuttii, and G. thanatophilum, are proposed.

An emendation of Phallus glutinolens

Phallus glutinolens was described from Brazil by Möller in 1895. A new collection of P. glutinolens from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest revealed that Möller’s original description was based on young specimens. New information on morphology is provided for P. glutinolens, and an emendation of the species circumscription is presented. This article also presents a key to differentiate the known Brazilian members of the genus Phallus.

First records of Clathrus (Phallaceae, Agaricomycetes) from the Northeast Region of Brazil

help during the fieldwork and Tereza Cristina de Oliveira Galvao for the illustration. The Brazilian authors also thank CNPq for providing Master fellowship to Larissa Trierveiler- Pereira and PPBio for financial support.

Bovista sclerocystis, a new species from Mexico

Bovista sclerocystis is described as a new species. It was found in Mexico, growing on rich soil of a tropical forest. It belongs to section Globaria, series Albosquamosa. The most striking character of this taxon is the exoperidium composed of polymorphous mycosclereids.

First report of Morganella compacta (Agaricales, Lycoperdaceae) from South America

Morganella compacta is recorded for the first time from South America. This species is found in Northeastern Brazil growing on sandy soil of dune ecosystems. Detailed descriptions, illustrations of basidiomata and basidiospores SEM are given.