The genus name Neosynedrella is proposed to replace the illegitimate genus Synedrella. The main discriminating feature shared by all species in the genus Neosynedrella is the ocellulimbus structure of the apical pore fields. Species in this genus lack marginal spines, possess striae composed of enlarged areolae on the valve face and mantle covered internally by branched volae, and up to four plain, open girdle bands with the valvocopula being the largest. Four species are placed in this genus: N. parasitica, N. australopatagonica, and N. subconstricta are transferred from other genera whereas N. gracilis is described as a new species.
Melanogaster qinghaiensis sp. nov. is described from collections associated with roots of Picea crassifolia Kom. in Qinghai Province, China. Morphological characters were examined using light and scanning electron microscopy. Phylogenetic analyses based on concatenated sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), nuclear large subunit (nrLSU), and the second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (rpb2) recovered the new species as a well-supported and independent lineage within the genus. Morphologically, M. qinghaiensis is distinguished from its closest relatives by a combination of subglobose to irregular basidiomata with peridial surfaces bearing scattered brownish maculae and irregular cracks at maturity, a strong alliaceous odor, a firm gleba that becoming gelatinous upon full maturity, and smooth-walled, inamyloid, ellipsoid to elongate-ellipsoid basidiospores measuring 5.0-8.5 & times; 2.7-4.0 & micro;m. This study integrates M. qinghaiensis into the global taxonomic framework of Melanogaster and provides additional data on the hypogeous fungal diversity of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with provides notes on the ectomycorrhizal associations in this high-altitude ecosystem.
Neglectella ovalis (Oocystaceae, Trebouxiophyceae) was collected from an irrigation canal and a paddy field in Japan and examined morphologically and phylogenetically. Vegetative cells were barrel-shaped to ellipsoidal, 25-50 mu m wide and 55-90 mu m long, with numerous small discoid chloroplasts, each containing one or two pyrenoids. Mucilage secretion from one cell pole, associated with movement along the agar surface, was documented for this species. This characteristic was consistent with Oocystaenium elegans and has not been previously reported in the genus Neglectella. Phylogenetic analysis based on nrSSU and cp rbcL gene sequences consistently resolved N. ovalis as forming a monophyletic group with Oocystaenium elegans, clearly distinct from the genus Neglectella sensu stricto. On the basis of these morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses, we propose a new combination, Oocystaenium ovale (W.B.Turner) Mizobuchi, S.Handa & H.Tsubota, comb. nov.
Lactocollybia is an important genus of saprotrophic fungi in the tropics, but its diversity in island ecosystems remains unclear. From a survey in Sansha, the southernmost city in China, specimens were obtained from decaying Pisonia grandis wood. Integrated morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies led to the discovery a new species, Lactocollybia yongxingdaoensis N.K. Zeng & Y.L. Chen. It is distinguished by its small white to pale yellow basidioma, hygrophanous stipe, three-series lamellulae, abundant gloeocystidia, fusiform cheilocystidia, a cutis-type pileipellis, and grows with Pisonia grandis in tropical China. Our work contributes key data to the fungal ecology of tropical coral islands and highlights the urgency of further exploration in these habitats.
In Europe, Polypodium vulgare s. lat. represents an evolutionary complex consisting of three species with different ploidy levels (diploid, tetraploid, and hexaploid), together with three hybrids (triploid, tetraploid, and pentaploid). From these taxa, two species, the allotetraploid P. vulgare and the allohexaploid P. interjectum as well as two hybrids, the allotetraploid P. & times; shivasiae and the allopentaploid P. & times; mantoniae, have so far been known from Germany. Already in 1950, Irene Manton hypothesized, based on phytogeographical comparisons, that P. cambricum, a thermophilous species, might also occur in the climatically favorable valleys of the major rivers in Central Europe. This prediction can now be confirmed by several recent findings in Germany made by us. Identification of the taxa was initially carried out by flow cytometric determination of nuclear DNA content, followed by detailed macro-and micromorphological investigations (frond morphology, spore shape and size, structure of the sporangia, length and width of stomata, number and morphology of paraphyses, and other diagnostic characters). Comparative material of all taxa of the P. vulgare complex from across Europe was examined. The four newly discovered occurrences of P. cambricum are located in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley between Koblenz and St. Goarshausen. The populations vary in size (from 15 to 123 clones). They grow within the narrow gorge of the Rhine on steep to vertical slate cliffs that have been scarcely altered by human influence. Occasionally, the fern also occurs on walls. The underlying rock, formed in the Lower Devonian, is rich in silicates and only weakly buffered, a rather unusual substrate for P. cambricum. The species grows here within a typical form of siliceous rock crevice vegetation of the Middle Rhine Valley, characterized by thermophilous and heliophilous species. The region is exceptionally mild in winter, and the narrow valley of the Rhine is characterized by a local climate in which frost events are further mitigated by the warming effect of the river. In the course of the investigation, historical herbarium specimens of P. cambricum from the Upper Middle Rhine Valley could also be identified. The oldest of these were collected around 1859. These historical specimens of P. cambricum clearly demonstrate that this fern is an indigenous species and that its occurrence is not a result of recent climate change. In a subsequent synopsis, we report on the surprisingly large biological diversity of P. cambricum as revealed when considering the entire distribution range of the species (including North Africa). Along a west-east gradient, the species occupies a wide variety of substrates (rocks, walls, building facades, and occasionally as an epiphyte on trees or shrubs) and is exposed to diverse climatic conditions, ranging from maritime temperate in the west to eu-Mediterranean along the eastern Mediterranean and the North African coast. Corresponding ecophysiological adaptations, particularly in frost, heat, and desiccation resistance, as reported in the literature are presented. Furthermore, we provide an overview of the various plant communities colonized by the species, as well as its reproductive and population biology. The final section reports on the occurrences of P. & times; shivasiae in Germany (the hybrid between P. cambricum and P. interjectum). Two of these were discovered in the 20th century, one in the Moselle Valley, Rhineland-Palatinate (now extinct), and another in the Nahe Valley, Rhineland-Palatinate (not recently confirmed). Two additional populations were discovered in this century and are documented here for the first time (H & ouml;nnetal, North Rhine-Westphalia). The two older occurrences are located in thermophilous river valleys, where it cannot be excluded that P. cambricum occurred nearby or still occurs today. For the two populations in the climatically less favorable H & ouml;nnetal, different founder scenarios are discussed, with the assumption that P. cambricum occurred in prehistoric times in Germany during warmer periods in Central Europe appearing the most plausible. Finally, it should be noted that an herbarium specimen from 1927 documents an occurrence near Koblenz, in an area that is still inhabited by P. cambricum today.
