Phallus squamulosus T.S.Cabral, B.D.B.Silva & Baseia

Cabral, Tiara S., Silva, Bianca DB., Martin, Maria P., Clement, Charles R., Hosaka, Kentaro & Baseia, Iuri G., 2019, Behind the veil - exploring the diversity in Phallus indusiatus s. l. (Phallomycetidae, Basidiomycota), MycoKeys 58, pp. 103-127 : 114

Phallus squamulosus T.S.Cabral, B.D.B.Silva & Baseia sp. nov. Figure 6

Diagnosis.

This species is characterised by its immature basidiome and volva with a squamous surface, white receptacle with shallow reticulations and a wide pore.

Holotype.

BRAZIL. Rio Grande do Norte: Baía Formosa, Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Mata Estrela (6.383307S, 35.000365W), 27 February 2014, Silva BDB (UFRN-Fungos 2806). GenBank accessions: MG678497 (ITS), MG678547 (atp 6).

Immature basidiomes whitish (N60A60M50), up to 39 × 34 mm, ovoid, with squamous surface. Fresh expanded basidiome up to 95 mm high. Receptacle 20 × 28 mm, campanulate to thimble-like, with a wide apical pore; and a strongly but shallow reticulated surface, reticulations 1.6-2 × 0.8-1.2 mm. Pseudostipe 60 × 12 mm, cylindrical, spongy, white (N00A00M00); pseudoparenchymatous, composed of globose to elongate-ovoid cells, 18-71 × 10.5-35 µm, hyaline. Indusium well-developed, extending to 2/3 of pseudostipe, white (N00A00M00), 44 mm in length, attached to the apex of the pseudostipe; polygonal to rounded meshes up to 6 × 3 mm. Volva epigeous, whitish (N00A00M00) to pale yellow (N00C00A30), with squamous surface; formed by filamentous hyphae, septate, branched, hyaline, clamp connections present, 2.5-4.5 μm diameter. Rhizomorphs whitish (N00A00M00), composed of filamentous thin-walled hyphae, with clamp connections; with crystal deposits in globose cells distributed amongst the hyphae, 15-17.9 × 14-17 μm. Gleba olive-brown (N99A50M10), mucilaginous. Basidiospores elongated, smooth, 3.5-4.4 × 1.8-2.2 µm, hyaline in 5% KOH.

Habitat and Distribution.

found growing on sandy soil, in a fragment of ombrophilous forest in the Atlantic Rainforest domain.

Etymology.

with reference to the volva covered with small scales.

Notes.

Only one specimen of this species has been found to date in the northern Atlantic Rainforest domain, but it is quite distinct from other species found in this study. We could not find white-indusiate species records with squamous exoperidium in the available literature. However, P. duplicatus , described in Martín and Tabarés (1994), presents an immature basidiome with fine scales on the exoperidium, but this character is not found in other described P. duplicatus ( Lloyd 1909, Liu 1984, Kreisel and Hausknecht 2009, Kibby and McNeil 2012). Nevertheless, the material described by Martín and Tabarés (1994) differs from P. squamulosus mainly by having a conic-campanulate receptacle with crenulate disc on the apex. Phallus denigricans presents small hyphae projections on immature exoperidium surfaces of some specimens, but these projections are arranged differently in P. squamulosus , where they appear as scales. Phallus indusiatus is different from P. squamulosus by the campanulate receptacle with a smaller pore and deeper reticulations, the indusium extending to the ground and the immature basidiome that is hypogeous with a smooth surface and pinkish pigments.

Figures

Figure 6. Phallus squamulosus UFRN-Fungos 2806, holotype. A Fresh basidiome B immature basidiome with squamous surface C spores D pseudoparenchymatous hyphae from pseudostipe E hyphae from volva F hyphae from rhizomorphs and crystals deposits on globose cells. Scale bars: 20 mm (A, B), 20 µm (C-F).