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A new lignicolous species of phalloid fungi, discovered recently on the western African island of São Tomé, is described as Phallus drewesii. A comprehensive description, photographs and comparison with phenetically similar species are provided.
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OFFICIAL BIMONTHLY PUBLICATION of the MYCOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
Vol.101 No. 4
2009
July
August
MYCOLOGIA
101/ 4 MYCOLOGIA July / August 2009
APPLIED MYCOLOGY
439–448 Two new species of
Pythium
,
P. senticosum
and
P. takayamanum
, isolated from cool-temperate forest soil in Japan • MASAKO SENDA, KOJI KAGEYAMA,
HARUHISA SUGA & C. ANDRÉ LÉVESQUE
449–472 Discovery of the parnafungins, antifungal metabolites that inhibit mRNA polyadenylation, from the
Fusarium larvarum
complex and other Hypocrealean
fungi • GERALD F. BILLS, GONZALO PLATAS, DAVID P. O VERY, JAVIER COLLADO, ASUNCIÓN FILLOLA, MARÍA ROSA JIMÉNEZ, JESÚS MARTÍN, ANTONIO GONZÁLEZ DEL VAL,
FRANCISCA VICENTE, J. RUBÉN TORMO, FERNANDO PELÁEZ, KATHLEEN CALATI, GUY HARRIS, CRAIG PARISH, DEMING XU& TERRY ROEMER
ECOLOGY
473–483 Ectomycorrhizal fungal communities of oak savanna are distinct from forest communities • I.A. DICKIE, B.T.M. DENTINGER, P.G. AVIS, D.J. MCLAUGHLIN &
P.B. REICH
MOLECULAR EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS
484–495 Identification of Indian pathogenic races of
Fusarium oxysporum
f. sp.
ciceris
with gene specific, ITS and random markers • GAYATRI GURJAR, MANEESHA BARVE,
ASHOK GIRI & VIDYA GUPTA
PLANT PATHOGENS
496–502 Molecular comparison of natural hybrids of
Phytophthora nicotianae
and
P. cactorum
infecting loquat trees in Peru and Taiwan • O.P. HURTADO-GONZALES,
L.M. ARAGON-CABALLERO, J.G. FLORES-TORRES, WILLEM MAN IN TVELD & K.H. LAMOUR
SYSTEMATICS
503–511 Molecular and morphological characterization of
Dothiorella casuarini
sp. nov. and other Botryosphaeriaceae with diplodia-like conidia • JUANITA DE WET,
BERNARD SLIPPERS, OLIVER PREISIG, BRENDA D. WINGFIELD, PANAGHIOTIS TSOPELAS & MICHAEL J. WINGFIELD
512–530 A multilocus phylogeny of the
Metarhizium anisopliae
lineage • JOSEPH F. BISCHOFF, STEPHEN A. REHNER & RICHARD A. HUMBER
531–534
Remispora spitsbergenensis
sp. nov., a marine lignicolous ascomycete from Svalbard, Norway • KA-LAI PANG, MICHAEL W.L. CHIANG & LILIAN L.P. VRIJMOED
535–538
Geastrum episcopale
: a new noticeable species with red-violet exoperidium • FRANCISCO KUHAR & LEANDRO PAPINUTTI
539–544 New species of
Stropharia
from
Araucaria angustifolia
forests of southern Brazil • PAULA SANTOS DA SILVA, VAGNER GULARTE CORTEZ & ROSA MARA BORGES DA SILVEIRA
545–547 A new species of
Phallus
from São Tomé, Africa • DENNIS E. DESJARDIN & BRIAN A. PERRY
548–553 Three new
Xylaria
species from Russian Far East • YU-MING JU, HUEI-MEI HSIEH, LARISSA VASILYEVA & ALEXANDER AKULOV
554–564 A re-evaluation of genus
Chaetomidium
based on molecular and morphological characters • MATTHEW D. GREIF, ALBERTO M. STCHIGEL, ANDREW N. MILLER &
SABINE M. HUHNDORF
565–572 New species and new records of Rhytismatales from Panama • CHENG-LIN HOU & MEIKE PIEPENBRING
573–578 New species and records of
Shrungabeeja
from southern China • KAI ZHANG, LI-GUO MA& XIU-GUO ZHANG
MEMORIAL
579–581 Howard Whisler, 19312007 • MELVIN S. FULLER
JULY – AUGUST 2009 MYCOLOGIA VOL. 101 • PP. 439–581
ISSN 0027-5514
MYCOAE 101(4): 439 –581 (2009)
ISSUED 2 JULY 2009
A new species of
Phallus
from Sa˜o Tome´, Africa
Dennis E. Desjardin
1
Brian A. Perry
Department of Biology, San Francisco State University,
1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco,
California 94132
Abstract
:A new lignicolous species of phalloid
fungi, discovered recently on the western African
island of Sa˜o Tome´, is described as
Phallus drewesii
.A
comprehensive description, photographs and com-
parison with phenetically similar species are provided.
Key words:
Basidiomycota, gasteromycetes,
Phallales, taxonomy
INTRODUCTION
The western African oceanic island of Sa˜o Tome´in
the Gulf of Guinea minimally 255 km west of
mainland Africa is volcanic in origin, approximately
13 000 000 y old (Lee et al 1994) and was never part of
or connected by a land bridge to the African
mainland. For some groups of organisms their
biodiversity on Sa˜o Tome´ is relatively well known
and show significant endemism. For example 601
species of plants have been recorded, of which 81
species (14%) are endemic (Figueiredo 1994). Ten
species of mammals (three endemic, 30%), 50 species
of birds (15 endemic, 30%), 14 species of reptiles
(one endemic, 7%) and five species of amphibians
(five endemic, 100%) have been documented from
the island (cited by Measey et al 2007). Knowledge of
the diversity of fungi from the Gulf of Guinea islands
is far more limited because until recently no biotic
surveys of the mycota from the region had been
conducted. In Apr 2006 (2 wk) and Apr 2008 (3 wk)
we conducted extensive fieldwork on Sa˜o Tome´ (and
on Prı´ncipe in 2008) documenting the diversity of
macrofungi (fleshy basidiomycetes and ascomycetes).
In 5 wk of collecting we obtained specimens, com-
prehensive descriptions and photographs represent-
ing approximately 225 species belonging to 91
genera. Analyses of this material will be published
elsewhere. Among the interesting species encoun-
tered, was a small, lignicolous species of
Phallus
(Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes, Phallales) described
as new herein.
The gasteromycetes and in particular the phalloid
fungi of western Africa are well known, primarily
through the works of Dring (1964) and Dring and
Rose (1976). In these publications only four species
of
Phallus
were reported, namely
P. aurantiacus
Mont. (now considered a synonym of
P. rubicundus
),
P. indusiatus
Vent.: Pers.,
P. roseus
Delile (as
Itajahya
rosea
(Delile) E. Fisch.) and
P. rubicundus
(Bosc) Fr.
None of the species reported from western Africa
bear close resemblance to the new species nor do any
of the other 28 currently recognized species of
Phallus
(Kreisel 1996, Calonge 2005). Based on a
unique combination of small size, reticulate white
pileus, reticulate, white, decurved pseudostipe, brown
volva, lignicolous habit and relatively broad basidio-
spores, the Sa˜o Tome´ material is described as a new
species.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
All specimens were dried on a NescoHfood dehydrator,
packed in airtight plastic bags and hand carried back to the
US. Macromorphological data were derived from fresh
specimens, whereas micromorphological data were derived
from dried specimens rehydrated in ethanol followed by
distilled water, 3%KOH or Melzer’s reagent. Morphological
terms for phalloid fungi follow those of Calonge (1998).
Color terms and notations are those of Kornerup and
Wanscher (1978). Spore statistics include
x
m
, the arithmetic
mean of the spore length by spore width (6standard
deviation) for n spores measured; Q, the quotient of spore
length and spore width in any one spore, indicated as a
range of variation in n spores measured; Q
m
, the mean of Q-
values (6standard deviation). Herbarium acronyms are
from Holmgren et al (1990).
TAXONOMY
Phallus drewesii
Desjardin et B.A. Perry, sp. nov.
FIG.1
Etymology.
Named (with permission) in honor of Dr
Robert C. Drewes (California Academy of Sciences)
who initiated extensive multi-organism biodiversity
studies on the islands of Sa˜o Tome´ and Prı´ncipe and
who has dedicated more than 30 y of his life to
research in Africa.
Ovum 6–12 36–10 mm, brunneum. Receptaculum
maturum cum pseudostipite cylindraceo vel subcylindraceo
20–45 mm alto, 4–7 mm crasso, reticulato-lacunoso, albo;
pileolo conico, 7–15 35–7 mm, reticulato, cum apice
aperto; gleba olivaceo-brunnea; volva brunnea; odore
foetida. Basidiosporae 3.0–3.5(–3.8) 31.6–2.0 mm, ellipsoi-
deae, laeves, hyalinae vel pallide-brunneae. Gregarium ad
Accepted for publication 9 February 2009.
1
Corresponding author. E-mail: ded@sfsu.edu
Mycologia,
101(4), 2009, pp. 545–547. DOI: 10.3852/08-166
#2009 by The Mycological Society of America, Lawrence, KS 66044-8897
545
lignum putridum. Holotypus hic designatus: Africa, Sa˜o
Tome´, Parque Nacional Obo, 14 Apr 2008, DED 8227
(SFSU).
Immature basidiome
(egg-stage; inset FIG. 1) ovoid
to conical with obtuse apex, 6–12 36–10 mm,
covered with appressed, pubescent to felted scales
when young, areolate in age, upper two-thirds brown
(7D-E4-5) or grayish brown (6D-E3), lower third
grading downward from pale brown to buff to off-
white, base attached to a coarse, sparsely branched,
white mycelial cord 1–2 mm diam.
Mature basidiomes
(FIG. 1) developing a decurved
pseudostipe
20–45 3
4–5 (apex) 35–7 (base) mm, cylindrical to sub-
cylindrical, gradually narrowing upward, pliant, dry,
hollow, deeply reticulate-lacunose with polygonal
reticulations 2–3 30.5–1.5 mm, about 1 mm deep,
pure white overall.
Indusium
absent.
Pileus
(recepta-
cle) conical 7–15 35–7 mm; apex perforate with
perforation 1 mm diam, flattened with a flared tip 2–
2.5 mm diam, strongly reticulate, white under the
gleba.
Gleba
dark olivaceous brown to dark yellowish
brown (4-5F5-8), gelatinous.
Volva
with surface
features and pigmentation identical to the egg stage.
Odor
strong, unpleasant.
Basidiospores
3.0–3.5(–3.8) 31.6–2.0 mm(
x
m
53.3 6
0.17 31.8 60.11 mm, Q 51.7–2.1, Q
m
51.8 60.07, n
525 spores), ellipsoid to subcylindrical, smooth, thin-
walled, pale brown with a hint of olive in 3%KOH.
Tissue supporting the hymenium composed of chains
of cells 9.5–25 36.5–18 mm, globose to ellipsoid or
fusoid, hyaline, inamyloid, thin-walled, nongelatinous.
Pseudostipe
composed of chain of cells;
stipitipellis
cells
16–32 314–20 mm,
stipe trama
cells 16–45 314–34 mm,
globose to ellipsoid, hyaline, inamyloid, thin-walled or
with walls up to 0.6 mm thick, nongelatinous.
Exope-
ridium
(volva) composed of interwoven hyphae 4–8 mm
diam, cylindrical, hyaline or with pale grayish brown
parietal pigments, inamyloid, thin-walled, nongelati-
nous.
Clamp connections
observed only on exoperidial
hyphae, absent elsewhere.
Habit, habitat and known distribution.
Solitary to
gregarious, lignicolous on the sides of fallen undeter-
mined dicotyledonous trees in primary forest. Sa˜o
Tome´, Africa.
Specimens examined
. Africa, Sa˜o Tome´, Parque Nacional
Obo, trail to Lagoa Amelia between 00u17.1129N,
06u35.9679Eand00u16.9229N, 06u36.0629E, approx.
1250 m elev., 14 Apr 2008, coll. by B.A. Perry and D.E.
Desjardin, DED 8227 (Holotype: SFSU). Two additional
specimens were collected and described but were lost in
transit to the US: Sa˜o Tome´, Parque Nacional Obo, trail to
Lagoa Amelia as above, 28 Apr 2006, DED 7962; Sa˜o Tome´,
Macambrara radio tower area, 00u16.5579N, 06u36.3269E,
1300 m elev., 25 Apr 2006, DED 7925.
Commentary.
Distinctive features of
Phallus drewesii
include a brown to grayish brown, areolate-felted volva,
reticulate-lacunose, white pseudostipe, a reticulate
pileus that is white under the olivaceous brown gleba,
and lack of an indusium. Basidiomes typically develop
on the sides of fallen logs and the rigid pseudostipe is
decurved at maturity. No other known small
Phallus
species has been described with a combination of
reticulate pileus (receptacle) and reticulate-lacunose
pseudostipe. In the recently published key to the known
worldwide members of genus
Phallus
(Calonge 2005;
circumscribed broadly to include
Dictyophora
Desv.,
Hymenophallus
Nees,
Ithyphallus
[Fr.] E. Fisch.,
Apor-
ophallus
A. Mo¨ller,
Itajahya
A. Mo¨ller,
Alboffiella
Speg.,
Clautriavia
[Pat.] Lloyd, and
Endophallus
M. Zang &
R.H. Petersen), species potentially allied with
P. drewesii
include the following.
Phallus minusculus
Kreisel &
Calonge (5
P. tenuis sensu
Calonge et al 1997),
described recently from Tanzania, differs in forming
smaller basidiomes with a reticulate pileus 8–10 32–
5 mm, a spongy (not reticulate) pseudostipe 25–33 31–
3 mm, and smaller basidiospores 2–3 31.0–1.5 mm
(Calonge and Kreisel 2002).
Phallus pygmaeus
Baseia,
described recently from Brasil, differs in forming smaller
basidiomes with smooth (not reticulate) pileus approx-
imately 3 mm tall, a tiny, reticulate pseudostipe 5–10 3
1–2 mm, and narrower basidiospores 1.0–1.5 mmdiam
(Baseia et al 2003).
Phallus tenuis
(E. Fisch.) O. Kuntze,
known from Sri Lanka, Java and China, differs in
forming larger basidiomes with a reticulate, yellow pileus
20–25 mm tall, and a yellow, spongy (not reticulate)
pseudostipe 70–100 mm tall (Liu 1984, Calonge 2005).
Last, the long forgotten epithet
P. xylogenus
Mont.,
based on material from Guyana, represents a species
with small basidiomes (pileus 3 mm broad, pseudostipe
ca. 10 32 mm) but differs in forming a perforated,
longitudinally subsulcate pseudostipe (‘‘
primitus cri-
broso
,
tandem longitrorsum subsulcato
’’) and smooth,
nonperforate pileus (Montagne 1854).
FIG. 1. Basidiomes of
Phallus drewesii
(Holotype).
Orientation of basidiomes as found in the field. Inset:
cross-section of the egg stage. Bar 510 mm.
546 MYCOLOGIA
Phallus drewesii
belongs in subgenus
Phallus
, sect.
Phallus
in the infrageneric taxonomy of Kreisel (1996).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Foremost we thank Dr Robert C. Drewes who had the
inspiration and fortitude to initiate, coordinate and lead
multiorganism biotic surveys on Sa˜o Tome´andPrı´ncipe. We
thank Eng. Arlindo de Ceita Carvalho, director general of the
Ministry of Environment, Victor Bomfim, Salvador Sousa
Pontes and Danilo Bardero for permission to collect and
export specimens for study. We are indebted to Socie´te´de
Conservation et De´veloppement for logistics and housing
support, especially the wonderful staffs of Omali Lodge and
Bom Bom Island. We are grateful for the continuing support
and cooperation of Bastien Loloumb of Monte Pico and
Faustino Oliviera, director of the botanical garden at Bom
Sucesso. We were assisted in the field by Jose Ramos Maria
Vital Pires on Prı´ncipe and by Quintino Quade Cabral,
Martinho Nascimiento and Jose Clara on Sa˜o Tome´. For
continuing support since 2001 we are most grateful for the
help of Ned Seligman, Quintino Quade Cabral and Roberta
Santos of STePUP. We are grateful for the partial financial
support of the College of Science and Engineering at San
Francisco State University for travel to Sa˜o Tome´ in 2006 and
for G. Lindsay Field Research Fund of the California Academy
of Sciences (CAS), for financially supporting the expedition in
2006, and the Hagey Research Venture Fund (CAS) in 2008.
Last, we thank the generosity of three private individuals,
George G. Breed, Gerry Ohrstrom and Timothy M. Muller,
whose support made the 2008 expedition successful.
LITERATURE CITED
Baseia IG, Gibertoni TB, Maia LC. 2003.
Phallus pygmaeus
,a
new minute species from a Brazilian tropical rain
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Calonge FD. 1998. Gasteromycetes I. Lycoperdales, Nidu-
lariales, Phallales, Sclerodermatales, Tulostomatales.
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———. 2005. A tentative key to identify the species of
Phallus
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———, Ha¨rko¨nen M, Saarima¨ ki T, Mwasumbi L. 1997.
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the Gasteromycetes. Karstenia 37:3–10.
———, Kreisel H. 2002.
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sp. nova from
tropical Africa. Feddes Repert 113(7–8):600–602.
Dring DM. 1964. Gasteromycetes of west tropical Africa.
Mycol Pap (Kew) 98:1–60.
———, Rose AC. 1976. Additions to West African phalloid
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Figueiredo E. 1994. Diversity and endemism of angiosperms
in the Gulf of Guinea islands. Biodiv Conserv 3:785–
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120:1–693.
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colour. 3rd ed. London: Eyre Methuen. 252 p.
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DESJARDIN AND PERRY:
P
HALLUS DREWESII
547
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