Mario Amalfi

Perenniporiella chaquenia sp nov and further notes on Perenniporiella and its relationships with Perenniporia (Poriales, Basidiomycota)

Perenniporiella chaquenia sp. nov. is described from Argentina. New records of P. pendula and P. micropora are discussed. A key to Perenniporiella species is presented. Preliminary phylogenetic relationships of Perenniporiella are inferred from parsimony and Bayesian analysis of a combined set of DNA sequence data (nuclear ribosomal partial LSU and ITS). It demonstrated that Perenniporiella forms a well resolved monophyletic clade distantly related to Perenniporia s.s. It also clearly showed that within Perenniporia as usually conceived other morphologically homogeneous group of taxa, such as the P. ochroleuca or P. vicina alliances, form well resolved clades, which could be recognized as distinct genera. The differentiation of the hyphal system and the basidiospores morphology are outlined as critical features for the definition of genera in the Perenniporia complex.

Fomitiporia in sub-Saharan Africa: morphology and multigene phylogenetic analysis support three new species from the Guineo-Congolian rainforest

Fomitiporia nobilissima sp. nov., F. gabonensis sp. nov. and F. ivindoensis sp. nov., three species from the rainforest of the Guineo-Congolian phytogeographic region in Gabon, are described and illustrated. These species share a pileate basidiome, small basidiospores and an absence of setae. The critical morphological features that differentiate them are the pileus habit or shape, pore surface color, pore diameter and possibly ecology. Each new species forms distinct but closely related clades in phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences from nuclear ribosomal LSU, ITS and translation elongation factor 1-α. Other species in sub-Saharan Africa are discussed briefly. A key to six species of Fomitiporia from sub-Saharan Africa is provided. The new combination Fomitiporia apiahyna is proposed.

Fomitiporia cupressicola sp. nov., a parasite on Cupressus arizonica, and additional unnamed clades in the southern USA and northern Mexico, determined by multilocus phylogenetic analyses

Fomitiporia cupressicola sp. nov., found in living Cupressus arizonica, is described on the basis of several collections originating from a high altitude forest in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico. The species forms a monophyletic clade, basal to a larger lineage comprising species originating mainly from temperate to Mediterranean areas of the northern hemisphere. The phylogenetic approach in Fomitiporia also revealed multiple unnamed clades within the F. robusta complex in the southern USA and northern Mexico, representing potential species. The status of the F. robusta complex in North America is discussed briefly.

Fomitiporia castilloi sp. nov. and multiple clades around F. apiahyna and F. texana in Meso- and South America evidenced by multiloci phylogenetic inferences

Fomitiporia castilloi sp. nov. from the lowland rainforest in French Guyana is described, illustrated and its phylogenetic affinities are discussed. This species is characterized by pileate basidiomata, a plicate margin, abundant, variably shaped hymenial setae and basidiospores averaging ≅ 6 × 5 μm. In phylogenetic inferences based on a DNA sequence dataset of four loci (5′ end of the LSU, ITS-5.8S, partial tef1 and rpb2), F. castilloi occupies an isolated position, basal to a clade that is composed exclusively of Neotropical species with resupinate basidiomata. The phylogenetic inferences also provide evidence of an unreported complexity within the Neotropical taxa, with multiple clades closely related to F. apiahyna and F. texana, representing additional potential species.

Two undescribed species of Phylloporia from Mexico based on morphological and phylogenetic evidence

Phylloporia rzedowskii and Phylloporia ulloai, both collected in tropical forests of the Sierra of the Huasteca Potosina, San Luis Potosi, Mexico, are described as new species. The main critical morphological features that characterize them are the pileus shape, the pore diameter, the basidiospores shape and size, and, possibly, their ecology, such as the host relationships (specificity/preference). Both species also form distinct clades in phylogenetic analysis based on partial DNA sequences data from the nuclear ribosomal LSU. An identification key for 10 species reported from the Americas is proposed.

Poroid Hymenochaetaceae from Guineo–Congolian rainforest: Phellinus gabonensis sp. nov. from Gabon – taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships

Phellinus gabonensis sp. nov. is described and illustrated on the basis of several collections made in three protected areas of primary rain forest in the western edge of the Guineo–Congolian center of endemism, in Gabon. The species is characterized by resupinate, perennial basidiomes, numerous, straight to commonly apically hooked hymenial setae, and ellipsoid to broadly ellipsoid, thin- to thick-walled, hyaline to yellowish basidiospores. Both the morphology and the phylogenetic inferences based on partial nuc-LSU relate this species to Ph. caribaeo-quercicolus.

New and Interesting Cantharellus from Tropical Africa

Abstract This paper deals with some of the larger, more or less yellowish or orange Cantharellus species from the tropical African woodlands and rain forests. Four new species with clamp connections are described: Cantharellus guineensis, C. mikemboensis, C. pseudomiomboensis and C. stramineus. The new taxa show moderate to strong resemblance to either Cantharellus rufopunctatus or C. miomboensis. A two-locus phylogeny, based on part of the protein coding genes rpb2 and tef-1, resolved them as a highly supported clade within Cantharellus subgenus Rubrinus, a subgenus still exclusively composed of tropical African species. This monophyletic clade is here described as a new section within subg. Rubrinus. As the subgenus was previously defined as being composed of chanterelles lacking clamp connections, the definition of the subgenus is here amended. Illustrations and new records are also presented for Cantharellus afrocibarius, C. defibulatus, C. miomboensis, C. rufopunctatus and C. sublaevis. This paper provides first sequences for C. defibulatus, C. rufopunctatus and C. sublaevis, all of which are here epitypified, as well as new sequences for more than a dozen other Cantharellus. Cantharellus cibarius var. latifolius is considered a synonym of C. afrocibarius. An identification key to all mainland African Cantharellus is proposed.

Phylloporia nouraguensis, an undescribed species on Myrtaceae from French Guiana

Abstract Phylloporia nouraguensis sp. nov. is described on the basis of several collections made in French Guiana. The species was found growing on living (or occasionally dead), small apical twigs of a species of Myrcia (Myrtaceae), in the so-called “low forest” covering the upper slopes of the Nouragues inselberg.

Fomitiporia neotropica, a new species from South America evidenced by multilocus phylogenetic analyses

During the revision of the Neotropical Fomitiporia species with resupinate basidiomata, several collections from southern Brazil, central Argentina, and French Guiana were found to represent an undescribed species, on the basis of molecular (DNA sequence) and additional morphological and distributional data. This taxon is described and illustrated as Fomitiporia neotropica sp. nov. The species belongs to the Fomitiporia langloisii lineage, the lineage type within Fomitiporia that so far contains only species with resupinate basidiomata spanning exclusively over the Neotropics. Fomitiporia neotropica is morphologically variable regarding the presence/absence of hymenial setae, and secondarily, regarding the pore size. It also inhabits distinct ecosystems characterized by variable moisture regimes. The range of divergent positions in the DNA sequences used in this study (ITS, 28S, partial tef1-α, and rpb2), between specimens from distant origins, are of the same magnitude as those between specimens of other related species, such as F. langloisii, F. dryophila, F. maxonii, or F. mediterranea. A key to the species from the F. langloisii lineage is given.

Hymenochaetaceae from the Guineo-Congolian rainforest: three new species of Phylloporia based on morphological, DNA sequences and ecological data.

Four species are added to Phylloporia. Three species, originating from the western edge of the Guineo-Congolian rainforest in Gabon (central Africa), are described as new. Phylloporia afrospathulata sp. nov. forms seasonal, stipitate, solitary basidiomata emerging from soil, more likely connected to buried roots, and has broadly ellipsoid basidiospores. Phylloporia inonotoides sp. nov. forms seasonal sessile, soft basidiomata, solitary at the base of small-stemmed trees including Crotonogyne manniana (Euphorbiaceae) and Garcinia cf. smeathmannii (Clusiaceae). It has a homogeneous context, large pores (2–3 mm), and oblong-ellipsoid to suballantoid basidiospores. Phylloporia fulva sp. nov. forms sessile, conchate, mostly pendant, gregarious basidiomata emerging from the trunk of an unidentified small-stemmed tree and has small, subglobose basidiospores. This species is compared to Polyporus pullus and Phylloporia pulla comb. nov. and proposed based on the study of the type specimen. Phylogenetic inferences using partial nuc 28S DNA sequence data (region including the D1/D2/D3 domains) and the most exhaustive dataset available to date resolved these new morphospecies as three distinct terminal lineages. No sequence data of P. pulla currently is available. The 28S-based phylogenic inferences poorly resolved the interspecific relationships within the Phylloporia clade.