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Fungimap Newsletter Issue 6 September 1997
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Australian Fungi Mapping Scheme
Administration: John Julian
P.O. Box 178
Bright Vic. 3741
email: wandivalley@netc.net.au
Telephone: (03) 5750 1796
Fungimap Records: c/o Fungimap
National Herbarium
Birdwood Avenue SOUTH YARRA VIC 3141
email: Email: tmay@rbgmelb.org.au
Homepage: http://calcite.apana.org.au/fungimap
Fungimap News Editor: John Julian
In this edition we are looking at a number of fungi which are commonly found at
this time of the year. One of these, a morel, appears to be very popular. I am
tempted to use the same words as David Arora in Mushrooms Demystified
on Morels:
"As I am meticulously mapping their variation and distribution. I request you,
generous reader. to deliver any and all morels you find to my doorstep. Then,
while I am savouring the superb flavour (having first, of course, studied them
thoroughly), you can bask in the altruistic satisfaction that comes from
contributing to science." (p. 786)
I dont think our Scientific Advisory Committee would let me get away with it
though. On a more serious note, however, all details of our records for
specific locations are kept strictly confidential.
Tom May is on official leave of absence from Fungimap for about 8 weeks (more
news in the next edition about this!) and hence his regular column does not
appear in this edition. It is replaced by an article on earth stars Tom kindly
did some months ago.
In the December edition we will be publishing 5 to 6 maps of material we have.
Have you got in your 20 records? I haven't. I now have 16 records for the year
so I've got 4 more to find before December. Old records with date and location
(longitude and latitude) are needed. Pity I don't have any!
Have we achieved?
Thousands of Australian's are able to name many of our native flora and fauna.
However, when it comes to fungi, most people go blank.
Not much is known about fungi in Australia. Currently, approximately 5000
species of Australian fungi are known. This represents only 5% of the expected
population of Australian species. At current rates of research, it is estimated
that it would take another 700 years before all Australian fungi are
catalogued.
Even with the few known Australian fungi species, very little is known about
their distribution, spread and associations. The Fungimap project is the first
mapping scheme of fungi to occur in the southern hemisphere and aims to gather
significant information about 100 selected species of fungi.
We now have the results of the 1996 pilot survey where we gained 500 records.
What impact have these records had on the data base of the distribution and
spread of Australian fungi? In essence, has the scheme achieved useful
scientific benefits and made a difference in our knowledge?
We are able to compare the number of records available before the scheme began
to see the impact that you, the volunteers, have had.
In terms of our knowledge of where selected project fungi are located, Table
One shows the effect of the project on our knowledge base.
Dr. Tom May, the taxonomic mycologist with the National Herbarium of Victoria
and Convenor of Fungimap's Scientific Advisory Committee states:
'For most species the Fungimap records far exceed both the number of
collections at the National Herbarium, or the number of localities recorded in
the literature. In a short time Fungimap has significantly added to knowledge
of the distribution of the target species.
Table 1: Fungimap Additions to Knowledge Base on the distribution of
Selected Fungi.
| Records in National
Herbarium to 6/96 | Records of locations
found in literature | Fungimap Records
to 6/97 |
| Amanita xanthocephala | 8 | 4 | 73 |
| Amanita muscaria | 7 | 26 | 165 |
| Aseroe rubra | 6 | - | 39 |
| Battaraea stevenii | 10 | - | 7 |
| Dermocybe austroveneta | 4 | 6 | 37 |
| Mycena interrupta | 1 | 14 | 73 |
| Omphalina chromacea | 5 | 5 | 49 |
| Omphalotus nidiformis | 15 | 24 | 63 |
Note: Information regarding literature records is for literature in Victoria.
Blank gaps mean that literature results have not been collated yet. The Table
is only for the 506 records received during the Pilot Scheme run in 1996 and
does not include more than 1000 records received to date during l997.
In my opinion we, as volunteers, have made a significant difference. It takes
me, on average, about 4 hours of actual searching to find each target species
and I live in a rich area for fungi. If we used the figure of 4 hours as a
conservative estimate that means that it would have taken 2,000 hours to find
the 500 records we achieved in l996. That is the equivalent to a full-
time
research scientist being out in the field full-time for one year. It does not
include the back-up time that is required for checking and cataloguing.
This figure gives us the value of Fungimap to scientific and government bodies.
To employ a full-time scientist with all of the associated costs and cover the
geographic area that Fungimap does, would cost approximately $70,000 to $80,000
per year. This figure is now more due to the growth in the scheme. However, a
lack of Commonwealth support means that we can really only limp along.
Even with a proven record of the efficiency and success of the scheme, we have
not been provided with any financial assistance from the Commonwealth. I am
starting to seriously ask the question: Is the Commonwealth only providing
funds for populist research about issues that are either green or cuddly? Is
this due to the bias of politicians, or is it due to advice from bureaucrats
who tell politicians what they want to hear?
It is now time for the Commonwealth to fund Fungimap and without this funding
our efforts will be seriously hampered in the future.
Back to Table of Contents
One of the 50 species being searched for is Schizophyllum commune. This
is a very cosmopolitan species which is an easy one for beginners to find.
Schizophyllum is placed in its own family (Schizophyllaceae), apparently
having few close relatives. While it looks like a 'bracket' fungus at first
glance, it has characteristics of both the Agaricales and Aphyllophorales.
Schizophyllum commune is the only known member of the family in
Australia.
The major definining characteristics are its shape, split gills, greyish velvet
cap, habitat and the large numbers which are normally found in the one spot.
Cap: Fan shaped, dry, between 1 to 4cm across, tough like suede,
reviving after drying with the addition of moisture, densely covered in fine
hairs giving a velvet appearance and feel, off-white to grey in colour.
Gills: present, well spaced, radiating from attachment point and
splitting lengthwise. Ring: absent. Volva: absent. Cap
attachment: attached directly to wood. Stipe: absent or very rudimentary.
Spores: White, occasionally pinkish. Habitat: Dead wood of
deciduous trees, and cut timber, fence posts. Name meaning: schiz =
split; phyll = leaves or leaf (gills). Com = hair Other characteristics
Usually a large number will be seen in the one location (i.e. on a fence
post). Can be found all year round although in dry times it will fold baclc its
gills to apparently conserve moisture and protect the spore bearing surface.
Note: Is reported to cause the disease basidioneuromycosis in humans.
Fungimap Species
Only one representative of the family is known in Australia and this is
described above.
One of the 50 species being searched for is , Morchella elata/conica.
This striking and tasty genus is easily identifiable by most fungi hunters
and is found commonly in spring. All records and specific site details will be
treated confidentially.
Defining characteristics: The major defining characteristics are the
honeycombed appearance of the conical cap.
Cap: ovoid to conical, honeycomb appearance with chambers formed by
ridges crossing each other, can be up to 30cm tall in some species but these
are rare in Australia, more often up to 5-10cm high and up to 5cm in diameter.
Gills: not present (refer 'chambers') Ring: absent. Volva:
absent. Cap attachment: attached for whole length to stem except in one
species where 1/3 to 2/3 is free (M. semilibera). Stipe: attached
centrally to the cap, usually hollow in cross-section, tough. Spores:
Yellowish-cream to white. Habitat: Open woodlands, scrub, wasteland and
on chalky soil, after fire. Generally found in late spring or early summer in
higher altitudes. Name meaning: Morchell = German for edible fungus or
morel. Elat = raised or tall Other characteristics: Cap colour is
variable, yellowish when younger becoming dark brown, olive with age and ridges
darker with age.
Notes: Widely known as a very tasty, edible species. Allergic reactions
to this morel however have been reported. It should also be noted that mild
poisoning can occur in a wide variety of morels if they are eaten raw.
Fungimap Species Morchella elata/conica has a cap up to 10cm high
and up to 5cm across. Cap: conical with strong honeycombed appearance
due to the vertical ridges running from the top to bottom of the cap sectioned
by irregular short horizontal ridges creating rectangular chambers.
Stipe: attached to the full length of the cap. Spore print: white
to yellowish-cream. Habitat: Open woodlands on slopes. Season: late
spring.. References: Fuhrer (Field Companion to Australian Fungi
1993), page 151; Shepherd and Totterdell, p. 148.
by Tom May
There are about a dozen species of earth-stars (Geastrum) recorded from
Australia. One species (Geastrum indicum, also known as G. triplex)
is on the Fungimap target list. How do you tell this species from the
rest?
First, a quick introduction to the structure of an earth-star. The 'puff-ball'
part of the earth-star, the part containing the powdery spores, is contained
within the endoperidium. The opening of the endoperidium is the stoma,
and this is surrounded by the peristome. The peristome can be fibrillose (like
silk), or distinctly pleated/plicate. The outer surface of the endoperidium may
be smooth (sometimes initially covered by a powdery or mealy layer) or coarse
(like sandpaper). The outer layer of the earth-star, the part which opens out
to form the 'star' is the exoperidium, and this is split into a number
of rays.
The endoperidium can sit directly on the exoperidium (sessile), or can
have a stalk at the base. In some species the rays expand but then close up
over the endoperidium as they dry out -- when this happens the rays are
described as 'hygroscopic'.
The outer surface of the exoperidium (the underside of the whole fruit
body) is called the mycelial layer; it is sometimes covered with a brown felty
layer. This outer mycelial layer can be mixed with debris (soil, leaf litter)
or not. In some species the outer mycelial layer eventually peels off.
The inner surface of the exoperidium is the pseudoparenchymatous layer. In some
species part of this layer breaks away to form a saucer under the
endoperidium.
In Geastrum fornicatum the rays of the exoperidium arch so that the
endoperidium is raised above the ground, the tips of the rays are connected to
a cup shaped structure which is the remains of the outer mycelial layer of the
exoperidium -- this is a fornicate exoperidium. In one species (G.
schweinitzii) fruit bodies sit on a subiculum -- a felt like mass of
hyphae which covers rotting wood.
So, what are the characters of Geastrum indicum? Firstly any Geastrum
which has one or more of the following characters is not G.
indicum:
- Endoperidium surface rough like sandpaper
- Endoperidium with stalk
- Peristome plicate
- Subiculum present
- Outer mycelial layer of exoperidium mixed with soil or leaf litter.
- Outer mycelial layer of exoperidium covered with brown felty layer
- Exoperidium fornicate (arched and connected to mycelial cup)
This leaves us with two species which are distinguished as follows:
| Geastrum saccatum | Geastrum indicum |
| Outer mycelial layer of exoperidium | Persists or peels off | Usually
persists |
| Endoperidium diameter | 4-24 mm | 11-35 (up to 54) mm |
| Pseudoparenchymatous layer forms saucer | Rarely | Usually |
The best field characters to separate G. indicum (=G. triplex)
and G. saccatum are the combination of size and the presence or
absence of the saucer formed by the pseudoparenchymatous layer. In young fruit
bodies the saucer may not be developed, and this is so in the photos of G.
indicum in Macdonald & Westerman, Field Guide to Fungi of
South-eastern Australia; Fuhrer & Robinson. Rainforest Fungi of
Tasmania; and Fuhrer, Field Companion to Australian Fungi. The
saucer can be seen in the illustrations of G. indicum in Phillips,
Mushrooms and other Fungi of Great Britain and Europe; Phillips,
Mushrooms of North America (where G. saccatum is also illustrated):
Fungi of Switzerland vol. 2: Arora, Mushrooms Demystified (also
has G. saccatum): and Shepherd & Totterdell. Mushrooms and
Toadstools of Australia (saucer is not very distinctive).
Taxonomic Note The correct name for G. indicum (as used by many
authors) is G. triplex, and this is the name used by Grgurinovic (1997).
We continue to use G. indicum for the moment, since that is the name
under which the species is included in many Australian field guides. G.
australe (see Grgurinovic, 1997) is very similar to G. saccatum
and G. triplex. differing in the larger spores. For the purposes of
recording species for Fungimap we are including G. australe under 'G.
indicum'.
Further Reading Cunningham, G.H. (1942) The
Gasteromycetes of Australia and New Zealand. Published by the author:
Dunedin. [Many names and species concepts have changed since this work, but
well-illustrated and with a key.]
Grgurinovic, C. (1997). Larger fungi of South Australia. Botanic Gardens
of Adelaide and State Herbarium: Adelaide.
Sunhede, S. (1989). Geastraceae (Basidiomycotina). Fungiflora: Oslo. [A
comprehensive treatment of the European species of Geastrum, with
copious black and white illustrations.]
Willis. J.H. (1931). The Geastrae or "earth-stars" of Victoria, Victorian
Naturalist 51: 115-124. [Note that many names have changed.]
Back to Table of Contents
The Fungimap target species are the eight original species, along with a further
42 species, taking the list of target species to 50. We have chosen species which
are illustrated in Bruce Fuhrer's Field Companion to Australian Fungi
so that there is a ready source of high quality illustrations for all species.
Asecond update of 50 species will be produced when further illustrations become
available. The list will eventually be expanded to also cover some rare species.
Records, recent or old, of all 50 target species from all parts of Australia
are requested. Some of the additional species are not so distinctive as the
original eight species and some recorders may wish to limit themselves to the
more obvious species. Remember to indicate if you are in any doubt about the
identification of a record, and in such cases it is best to send a photo.
Numbers in brackets are page numbers in Bruce Fuhrer's Field Companion to
Australian Fungi (published by FNCV).
ORIGINAL EIGHT (illustrated in Fungimap colour brochure -- in addition,
all species except Amanita muscaria and Battarraea stevenii are
illustrated in Field Comp.)
Amanita muscaria
Amanita xanthocephala (21)
Aseroe rubra (102)
Battarraea stevenii
Dermocybe austroveneta (31)
Mycena interrupta (59)
Omphalina chromacea (62)
Omphalotus nidiformis (70)
ADDITIONS MARCH 1997 For this first updated list, all species are
illustrated in Bruce Fuhrer's Field Companion to Australian Fungi,
published by the FNCV.
Agaricus xanthodermus (15)
Amauroderma rude (113)
Anthurus archeri (102)
Armillaria luteobubalina (22)
Ascocoryne sarcoides (144)
Banksiamyces macrocarpa (146)
Boletellus obscurecoccineus (80)
Calostoma fuscum (94)
Cordyceps gunnii (154)
Cordyceps hawkesii (155)
Cortinarius austroalbidus (in Field Comp. as C. albidus) (29)
Cortinarius radicatus (34)
Cortinarius rotundisporus (36)
Cyttaria gunnii (147)
Fistulina hepatica (116)
Gymnopilus pampeanus (45)
Hericium clathroides (108)
Hygrophorus lewellinae (48)
Ileodictyon gracile/cibarium (in Field Comp. as Clathrus cibarius)
(101/104)
Leotia lubrica (150)
Lepista nuda (52)
Macrotyphula juncea (in Field Comp. as Clavaria delphus) (85)
Marasmius oreades (55)
Microporus xanthopus (118)
Morchella elata/conica (in Field Comp. as Morchella sp.) (151)
Mucronella pendula (in Field Comp. as Myxomycidium pendulum) (90)
Mycena austrororida (57)
Mycoacia subceracea (109)
Neolentinus dactyloides (in Field Comp. as Lentinus terrestris) (52)
Oudemansiella radicata (67)
Panus fasciatus (in Field Comp. as Lentinus fasciatus) (51)
Piptoporus australiensis (119)
Piptoporus maculatissimus (121)
Podaxis pistillaris (100)
Podoserpula pusio (132)
Poronia ericii (in Field Comp. as P. punctata) (158)
Pseudohydnum gelatinosum (142)
Schizophyllum commune (76)
Tremella fuciformis (138)
Tremella mesenterica (140)
Vibrissea bicolor (154)
Volvariella speciosa (77)
In April of this year a request was launched tor collectors of dried herbivore
dung (Fungimap Newsletter April 1997 pp. 56). Since then Tom May and Pat
Grey have received over 100 collections, the most commonly collected dung being
from Wallaby and Kangaroo. At present these samples are being kept air-dry
ready for shipment to me here in New Zealand.
Meanwhile I have been doing my best to organise the alterations of part of our
laboratory facilities here to accommodate a new quarantine room in which to do
this work. Due to the passing of the Biosecurities Act 1993, conditions under
which people can import biological material for research purposes has tightened
up. Firstly it was necessary to discuss with the MAF (Ministry of Agriculture
...) officers what level of containment would be needed for this type of work.
After some discussion it was decided that our quarantine room should meet
physical containment level 2 as described in the handbook: 'Australian/New
Zealand standard: part 3: microbiology, 1995'. It takes an inordinately long
time to set all these bureaucratic wheels in motion! The first hurdle to
negotiate was that of getting a decision upon whether or not we were going to
be moved to a different part within the School ... it was only after that was
made that I could start to plan for where the quarantine room was going to be
located. However, the changes to meet MAF's requirements should be completed by
the end of September.
I am not the first person to study the dung fungi of Australia. Major Harry
Dade retired from his job as Assistant Director of the (then) Imperial
Mycological Institute at Kew in 1960 and emigrated to Victoria to be near his
son (and family). During his retirement years he collected dung fungi and made
copious meticulous notes on many of them. Unfortunately he died in July 1978
before he could publish any of this work. I had the pleasure of reading his
notes and studying many of his slides for 2 months in 1982 when they were
housed at the Rydalmere Herbarium (New South Wales, Department of Agriculture).
Harry was an excellent illustrator and very careful observer and his notes are
a model to us all. I plan to devote the first chapter in this publication to
him amd his work. Although I have some data about him from such publications
as: 'Brief Biographies of British Mycologists', by Geoffrey Ainsworth ( 1996),
and his obituary note in the Bulletin of the British Mycological Society
(Vol 13, 1979), I am seeking further information about Harry. His relatives
must still be living in Australia (still in Victoria?), and I need to get their
views on my writing about their relative. I would also like some good pictures
of him. Having worked closely with his diaries I feel that I know him (although
I never met him). Besides a love of dung fungi we had another interest in
common, he too was a beekeeper. If anyone can provide me with any information
on Harry or the addresses of his relatives I would be delighted to hear from
them. Below is a reproduction of a drawing of a most interesting fungus which
he illustrated. He sent a sample of it to Prof. R.F. Cain thinking that it
might be Sordaria brevicollis. He wrote that it:
'is another fairly common species, as yet found only on opossum dung. It seems
to fit the description of S. brevicaulis, and you may be able to confirm
or reject my determination from the scanty material now submitted.'
Under these typed notes he wrote:
'Determination confirmed by Cain, July 1968, but in his letter he spells it
brevicollis which must be an error.'
We have found this fungus too in New Zealand, also on opossum [i.e. Brushtail
possum] dung (since the opossum was introduced into New Zealand as a basis for
a fur trade). We have isolated and grown the fungus and find that it is not
Sordaria brevicollis (Harry was wrong about the spelling), but it is a
new species which we are naming: Sordaria trichosura. Although it is
hardly distinguishable from Sordaria brevicollis, it will not cross with
S. brevicollis, (nor with S. tomenta-alba, a morphologically
similar species). It is necessary to grow these fungi and perform crossing
experiments in order to ascertain their identity. This is just one small
anecdote to illustrate the importance of Harry Dade's pioneer work on these
fungi. I will quote other parts of his work in future editions of this
newsletter.
Ann Bell (Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand)
Back to Table of Contents
Some mycetophiles are now collecting the dung of native animnls for
investigations ot the mycoflora as well as examining mushrooms to add to the
Fungimap database. Dung beetles are found in both these microhabitats.
Australia has over 200 species of true dung beetles (Scarabaeinae),
approximately 10% of which are found in association with mushrooms (Matthews
1972). Onthophagus dunningi is the best known of these mycetophagous
scarabs. Adults burrow up the stalk, consume the flesh of the mushroom and use
it to provision underground nests in which eggs are laid. The larvae are
obligate mycetophages but the adults feed on dung as well as fungi. O.
dunningi is reported to prefer Amanita verna (Bull) Fr. and A.
ochrophylla Clel. to other species of mushrooms although it has been found
in a wide range of fungi including Agaricus silvaticus, Boletellus acranas
and Boletus sp. (Bornemissza 1971).
Not much is known about the mycetophagous dung beetles. Their host range is
poorly defined. Adult dung beetles in general are highly vagile insects auld
they may play some role in dispersal of fungal spores, but of course restrict
the reproduction of their hosts by destroying the sporophore.
Surprisingly, not much is known about the 'host' range of the native
coprophagous dung beetles either. Records of identified Onthophagus
species from the dung of grey and red kangaroos, which constitutes a large
proportion of the available native animal dung resources, are very nearly
absent from the published literature.
Keen mycologists and coprophiles are thus well positioned to add to
entomological knowledge. Beetles encountered need to be collected to allow an
expert to determine their identity and at least the basic data elements are
required for specimens to be scientifically valuable.
Ian Faithfull
16 Nabilla Avenue
Seaford 319S
References
Bornemissza, G.F., 1971. Mycetophagous breeding in the Australian dung beetle,
Onthophagus dunningi. Pedobiologia 11: 133-142.
Matthews, E.G., 1972. A revision of the scarabaeine dung beetles of Australia
I. Tribe Onthophagini. Australian Journal of Zoology Supplementary Series
No. 9: 1-330.
Ian has been asked to provide a brief article on what records he requires as
well as how to preserve a beetle for our next newsletter. In the meantime,
please send any records or dead beetlesyou may have to him.
Back to Table of Contents
We received the 100th record of Amanita xanthocephala from David
Ratkowsky, Hobart Tasmania.
The first record of Panus fasciatus from NSW has been sent in from Heino
Lepp with the list from the CSIRO collection which is being incorporated into
the main national collection.
Gordon Trace from the Melways reference section sent us a computer utility
program to convert suburban Melway references to lat/long. This has been
extremely useful and we would like to thank him very much.
However, we also have another program to convert the Australian Map Grid into
lat/long, but when using these numbers (found on most non-suburban maps) please
include the small numbers that are placed before some of the numbers on the
actual lines e.g. 298 easting/5800 northing. These large squares can then be
divided into 10 equal parts to produce a more accurate reference e.g. 2986
easting/58004 northing. An example of the AMG is shown at the beginning of the
Melways directory with the key. The zone numbers referred to are 54 or 55 for
Victoria. 54 is approximately west of Lorne, 55 is east to the east coast.
I would like to thank those recorders who have been able to send in the actual
lat/longs, this has made the data entry a lot quicker.
We have now received more than 1,000 records during 1997, giving us more than
1,500 records in total!
Thank you,
Pat Grey
Back to Table of Contents
All fungi records to be sent to:
Fungimap
National Herbarium of Victoria,
Birdwood Avenue,
South Yarra, 3141
All administrative and general enquiries to:
John Julian,
PO Box 178, Bright, Victoria 3741.
Telephone (03) 5750 1796.
Fungimap is supported by the Myer Foundation
Fungimap Newsletter 6 is © 1997 Australian Fungi Mapping Scheme, Fungimap and Dr. Tom May
Last modified on 7 August 2003
Copyright © 1997-2003 Fungimap
