Joaquín Cifuentes Blanco

Current knowledge and importance of the order Gomphales (Fungi: Basidiomycota) in Mexico

Those species belonging to the order Gomphales (Fungi: Basidiomycota) are widely distributed, but most of them have been recorded in temperate areas of the northern hemisphere. This study presents the current knowledge and importance of this taxon in Mexico. Herbarium records, published works, institutional databases and personal collections in Mexico show that this order is represented in the country by 10 genera and 92 species, which chiefly inhabit temperate montane forests, although it is also represented at low altitudes. Traditionally, more than half of the species have a nutritional value among the different ethnic groups that inhabit Mexico. It is also known that many of the species are ectomycorrhizal. In comparison with other groups of Basidiomycota, there is little taxonomic knowledge about the species of this order, due chiefly to the lack of specialists on the group. Conservation of the members of this order is important for maintaining the delicate balance of temperate Mexican forests, mainly coniferous ones, which require association with fungi for their survival.

The genus Gomphus in tropical and subtropical zones of Mexico

Gomphus calakmulensis, G. albidocarneus and G. pleurobrunnescens are proposed and described as new species from the Mexican states of Campeche and Chiapas, while G. pallidus, previously recorded only in the eastern U.S. and Japan, has now been found in various parts of Mexico for the first time. This work describes the species, illustrates their key features, discusses their distribution, as well as their similarities and differences, and provides an identification key for all of them. All of the specimens studied here come from tropical or subtropical ecosystems.