Michaela Schmull

Tree diversity in primary forest and different land use systems in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

We studied the tree communities in primary forest and three different land use systems (forest gardens, ca. 5-year-old secondary forests, cacao plantations) at 900–1200 m elevation in the environs of Lore Lindu National Park, Central Sulawesi. The primary forests had ca. 150 tree species ≥10 cm diameter at breast height (dbh) per hectare, which is unusually high for forests at this elevation in southeast Asia. Basal area in the primary forest was 140 m2 ha−1, one of the highest values ever recorded in tropical forests worldwide. Tree species richness declined gradually from primary forest to forest gardens, secondary forests, and cacao plantations. This decline was paralleled by shifts in tree family composition, with Lauraceae, Meliaceae, and Euphorbiaceae being predominant in primary forests, Euphorbiaceae, Rubiaceae and Myristicaeae dominating in the forest gardens and Euphorbiaceae, Urticaceae, and Ulmaceae in the secondary forests. Cacao plantations were composed almost exclusively of cacao trees and two species of legume shade trees. Forest gardens further differed from primary forests by a much lower density of understorey trees, while secondary forests had fewer species of commercial interest. Comparative studies of birds and butterflies demonstrated parallel declines of species richness, showing the importance of trees in structuring tropical forest habitats and in providing resources.

Morphological and physiological reactions of young deciduous trees (Quercus robur L., Q. petraea [Matt.] Liebl., Fagus sylvatica L.) to waterlogging.

One-year-old seedlings of Quercus robur L., Q. petraea (Matt.) Liebl. and Fagus sylvatica L. were cultivated in lysimeters and subjected to waterlogging for 17 weeks, interrupted by a five-week drainage period during summer. The growth of Q. robur was less affected by waterlogging than that of Q. petraea and Fagus. Waterlogging resulted in the formation of adventitious roots in Q. robur and Q. petraea, but not in Fagus. In contrast to Fagus, Q. robur and, to a lesser extent, Q. petraea were able to generate roots even below the water table. The hydraulic conductance of the excised root systems, the stomatal conductance and, in Fagus, the leaf water potential and the leaf-mass related hydraulic conductance were decreased by waterlogging. The decrease in the hydraulic conductance was largest in Fagus, and smallest in Q. robur. The roots of Fagus responded to anaerobic conditions with an increase in ethanol concentration. The measurements of nitrate reductase activities in roots and leaves provided no indications of a persistent contribution of NO3− metabolism to the alleviation of waterlogging-induced stress. It is concluded that Q. robur and, to a lesser extent, Q. petraea can tolerate waterlogging periods better than Fagus due to a different pattern of root formation, and to a better adjustment of leaf biomass production to the hydraulic conductivity of the root system.

Phylogenetic affiliations of members of the heterogeneous lichen-forming fungi of the genus Lecidea sensu Zahlbruckner (Lecanoromycetes, Ascomycota)

The genus Lecidea Ach. sensu lato (sensu Zahlbruckner) includes almost 1200 species, out of which only 100 species represent Lecidea sensu stricto (sensu Hertel). The systematic position of the remaining species is mostly unsettled but anticipated to represent several unrelated lineages within Lecanoromycetes. This study attempts to elucidate the phylogenetic placement of members of this heterogeneous group of lichen-forming fungi and to improve the classification and phylogeny of Lecanoromycetes. Twenty-five taxa of Lecidea sensu lato and 22 putatively allied species were studied in a broad selection of 268 taxa, representing 48 families of Lecanoromycetes. Six loci, including four ribosomal and two protein-coding genes for 315- and 209-OTU datasets were subjected to maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses. The resulting well supported phylogenetic relationships within Lecanoromycetes are in agreement with published phylogenies, but the addition of new taxa revealed putative rearrangements of several families (e.g. Catillariaceae, Lecanoraceae, Lecideaceae, Megalariaceae, Pilocarpaceae and Ramalinaceae). As expected, species of Lecidea sensu lato and putatively related taxa are scattered within Lecanoromycetidae and beyond, with several species nested in Lecanoraceae and Pilocarpaceae and others placed outside currently recognized families in Lecanorales and orders in Lecanoromycetidae. The phylogenetic affiliations of Schaereria and Strangospora are outside Lecanoromycetidae, probably with Ostropomycetidae. All species referred to as Lecidea sensu stricto based on morphology (including the type species, Lecidea fuscoatra [L.] Ach.) form, with Porpidia species, a monophyletic group with high posterior probability outside Lecanorales, Peltigerales and Teloschistales, in Lecanoromycetidae, supporting the recognition of order Lecideales Vain. in this subclass. The genus name Lecidea must be redefined to apply only to Lecidea sensu stricto and to include at least some members of the genus Porpidia. Based on morphological and chemical similarities, as well as the phylogenetic relationship of Lecidea pullata sister to Frutidella caesioatra, the new combination Frutidella pullata is proposed here.

Element microdistribution in the bark of Abies balsamea and Picea rubens and its impact on epiphytic lichen abundance on Whiteface Mountain, New York

Summary Epiphytic lichen cover and total element concentrations of bark were studied in a montane Abies balsamea-Picea rubens forest on Whiteface Mountain in upstate New York. Epiphytic lichen abundance was much higher on A. balsamea compared to P. rubens . The bark of A. balsamea was characterized by high total concentrations of Mn. Mn is known to limit epiphytic lichen abundance on Picea abies in the Harz Mountains, Germany, where total Mn concentrations in bark are much lower. The rich lichen cover on A. balsamea included a well-developed population of Hypogymnia physodes . This species has been experimentally proven to be sensitive to Mn in previous studies. Total Mn concentrations in the bark of P. rubens on Whiteface Mountain were in the same range as in the bark of P. abies in Germany. X-ray microanalysis showed that A. balsamea immobilized most Mn in crystals in spongy cork and in sclerotic phelloid cells of the outer bark. This immobilization explains the high lichen abundance on A. balsamea despite the high total Mn concentrations. Immobilization of Mn in the bark may also be a cause for the generally high epiphytic lichen abundance on Abies species other than A. balsamea . No Mn deposits were observed in P. rubens . The cover of several lichen species including H. physodes decreased with increasing (total) Mn/Fe ratio in the P. rubens bark. These correlations match with previous experimental findings showing an alleviation of Mn toxicity in H. physodes by Fe.

Extraction methods for assessing the availability of cations for epiphytic lichens from bark

Abstract Concentrations of K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu in water eluates as well as in SrCl 2 and EDTA extracts of ground bark from Abies balsamea and Picea rubens were determined and related to total concentrations obtained from acid digests. SrCl 2 was most effective at extracting K, Ca and Mg, whereas EDTA had a higher extraction efficacy for Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu. Concentrations in the water eluates were generally lower. Mobility of the different metals in the bark was estimated as the percentage of the metal concentration recovered in the water eluates related to the total concentration; it decreased in the order K>Mg, Mn, Cu>Zn>Ca, Fe. Concentrations of K, Mg, Mn, and Zn in the water eluates, the SrCl 2 and EDTA extracts were correlated with total concentrations; in these cases the choice of extraction method has little impact on the detection of correlations between element concentrations and epiphytic lichen abundance. For Ca, Fe and Cu little correlation occurred between concentrations in the extracts and total concentrations; here, possible relationships between epiphytic lichen abundance and element availability can easily be overlooked due to insufficient extraction methods. Cation availability depends on the phorophyte species and its vitality; thus, ion availability has to be determined seperately for each type of substrate.

Dictyonema huaorani (Agaricales: Hygrophoraceae), a new lichenized basidiomycete from Amazonian Ecuador with presumed hallucinogenic properties

Abstract Dictyonema huaorani, a new species represented by a well-developed specimen found in the Ecuadorian Amazon region, is described in this paper. The material was collected during a Harvard ethnobotanical expedition in 1981 and originally determined by Mason E. Hale Jr. as belonging in the genus Dictyonema (D. sericeum s.lat.) and possibly representing an undescribed species. The species is morphologically distinctive in forming densely woven, semicircular thalli, closely resembling those of the paleotropical D. ligulatum but lacking clamps and with hyphal sheath around the photobiont filaments that resembles those of Cyphellostereum species. The species was reported to have hallucinogenic properties and chemical analyses suggest certain substances present that are shared with the hallucinogenic mushroom Psilocybe cubensis. Due to our inability to use pure reference compounds and scarce amount of sample for compound identification, however, our analyses were not able to determine conclusively the presence of hallucinogenic substances.

Schaereria dolodes (Nyl. ex Hasse) Schmull & T. Sprib.: a second corticolous species in the genus

Schaereria dolodes (Nyl. ex Hasse) Schmull & T. Sprib. comb. nov., an epiphytic lichen species known from western North America was originally described as a member of the genus Lecidea sensu lato. However, its morphology is very characteristic of the genus Schaereria Korb. Here, we lectotypify the species and propose its placement in the latter genus. It is also reported as new to Canada from British Columbia.

Lecidea hercynica , a new montane epiphytic lichen from Germany

Lecidea hercynica Hauck & Schmull is described as a new species from Germany. It is characterized by a poorly developed or bullate to verrucose, areolate thallus on whitened spots of the substratum, numerous plane to yellowish brown to black, convex apothecia with a persistent margin, Micarea type-like asci, and by the presence of atranorin and protocetraric acid. It does not belong to Lecidea s. str., but is provisionally placed in Lecidea s. lat. until a taxonomic treatment of the whole group has been carried out. Lecidea hercynica is widespread in high-elevation forests of Picea abies in the Harz Mountains, where it grows preferably on decorticated wood in open situations.

Tropical truffles: English translation and critical review of F. von Höhnel’s truffles from Java

Truffles are a polyphyletic group of more than 75 genera dispersed among four major fungal lineages, the Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Glomeromycota, and Zygomycota. Only about 20 truffle species are known from tropical Asia and most are endemic. In 1907–1908, the Austrian botanist and mycologist Franz von Höhnel collected and described five new species of truffles from the island of Java, Indonesia. From three of these five collections, the only existing materials are microscope slides preserved at the Farlow Herbarium of Cryptogamic Botany at Harvard University. The other two collections consist of small packets of fungal material. Considering the high rate of endemism on Java coupled with the destruction of many of the islands natural ecosystems, it is important to preserve and review the remaining collections of these fungi. To facilitate studies of tropical Asian truffles, we critically reexamine von Höhnels Javanese truffle collections and translate his German descriptions and commentaries into English. As part of this review, Sphaerocreas javanicum Höhn. is synonymized with Glomus coremioides (Berk. & Broome) D. Redecker & J.B. Morton, and Gymnomyces javanicus (Henn.) M.E. Sm. & Schmull is proposed as a new combination for Hydnangium javanicum Henn.

An Unusual Xylotheque with Plant Illustrations from Early Meiji Japan

An Unusual Xylotheque with Plant Illustrations from Early Meiji Japan. Two unusual wood collections, reported previously in the collections of the Botanical Museum at Berlin-Dahlem and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, take the form of framed plant illustrations painted on boards made from the wood of the species illustrated. We present new finds of very similar wood collections in the Economic Botany Collection of the Harvard University Herbaria, a private collection in the U.K. (Loudon collection), and at the Koishikawa Botanical Garden of the University of Tokyo. A stamp on the reverse of the boards links all five collections to Chikusai Kato, an artist working at Tokyo University (now the University of Tokyo) in early Meiji Japan, under the direction of the preeminent nineteenth century Japanese botanist Keisuke Ito. New evidence from contemporary historical accounts indicates that more than 100 boards were ordered in June 1878 by Hiroyuki Katō, the first president of Tokyo University, most likely to support the early teaching of Western-influenced botanical science in Japan. However, while the boards had clear value for teaching, especially about useful plants, their unusual fusion of Western and Japanese influences also made them desirable craft objects that were collected and given as gifts during the early Meiji era.明治初期に日本で作られた特異な植物図版について　これまでベルリン・ダーレムの植物博物館とイギリス王立キュー植物園に知られていた植物図版は、枠付きの木製の板の上に描かれており、その板はその植物の材を用いられていることで大変特徴的である。最近、同様な植物図版がハーバート大学植物標本館、ロンドン個人コレクション(Loudon氏蔵)と東京大学附属小石川植物園にも見出された。裏面の篆刻印から、これらの植物図版は東京大学創立初期の1878年に当時の著名な植物学者伊藤圭介教授の指導の下に、そこで働いていた植物画家加藤竹斎によって描かれ、制作されたことが分かる。当時の資料などから新たに分かったことは、当初作成された100枚余の植物図版は初代東京大学総長(当時は総理といった)によって、近代的植物科学の教育手段として購入されたと推定される。しかしながら、これら図版は有用植物の教育手段として優れているが、同時に西洋と日本の画法の融合したユニークな図版であることから工芸品としてもみなされ、明治初期には収集されたり、また、贈答品としても用いられていたことが分かった。