Segedin, B.P. 1996: A new species of Lentinellus (Hericiales, Lentinellaceae) and a revision of taxa attributed to Lentinellus in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 34(2): 249-261.
Details
Descriptions
Stevenson 's description of the holotype of L. crawfordii
"Pileus 30 x 20 mm, reddish brown (russet), smooth, pliant; flesh concolorous. Gills decurrent, light reddish brown, moderately crowded, deep, margins lacerate. Stipe 1.5--2.0 x 0.3-0.4 cm, lateral, reddish brown, tough, hollow, smooth to velutinous. Spores 3.5-4 µm diam., strongly amyloid, globose, ornamented with fine ridges. Hymenophoral trama more or less regular. Cuticle of loosely woven hyphae about 5 µm diam., with walls 0.5 - 1 µm thick and clamp connections.
HABITAT: on fallen rotting wood, Nelson, 6 July 1949, A. Crawford in Stevenson."
Other characters of the holotype
Spores 4-4.5 x 3.5-4.0 (4.1 x 3.6) µm, Q = 1.1, subglobose, with very distinct, echinulate, strongly amyloid wall ornamentation. Basidia 20-25 x 5 - 6 µm, shortly clavate to subcylindrical, 4-spored, extending when mature. There is a well-developed system of oleiferous hyphae especially in the trama and to a lesser extent in the context. The oleiferous hyphae are pale yellow (in KOH), 5-7 µm in diam., contents finely guttulate. These hyphae penetrate the hymenium, their rounded or pointed ends extending some distance beyond the basidia as pseudocystidia, both on the lamellar margin and even more plentifully on the lamellar face. No leptocystidia seen. The oleiferous hyphae are very plentiful in the outer part of the trama, adjacent to the narrow subhymenium. The central region of the trama is of parallel, descending, thin-walled, narrow (up to 3 µm diam.), clamped hyphae. The context is also a mixture of interwoven, thin-walled, clamped hyphae, up to 6 µm diam., and somewhat contorted, oleiferous hyphae. No thick-walled, amyloid hyphae were observed in the trama or context. Pileipellis of narrow (up to 4 µm) repent, thin-walled, pale yellow, clamped hyphae with infrequent, upturned pseudocystidia from the context. No layer of very thick-walled hyphae was seen in the pileipellis as described by Stevenson. Grooved fragments of the stipe show protruding, inflated, thick-walled pseudocystidia.
Information from additional collections
Basidiomata occurring singly or in clusters of 2 - 3, with stipes joined at the base only, or partly fused to about half their length. Pileus 15-45 mm diam., convex to depressed, surface completely smooth, or tomentose towards the stipe attachment. Lamellae decurrent, extending in ridges down the stipe, pale brown, thin, broad (5-6 mm), with deeply lacerate margin. Stipe usually lateral, occasionally excentric, 12-50 x 5- 6 mm (or 50-55 x 15 mm when fused), longitudinally grooved, surface smooth or velvety or covered with a dense, whitish tomentum. Taste and smell unknown, not acrid when dried. Spore print white, becoming cream with age.
Microscopic characters were as for the type but the stipe could be studied more fully. Stipitipellis is composed of narrow, pale brown, parallel, clamped hyphae with, towards the base, superficial patches of tomentum consisting of a tangle of narrow, pale brown, sparsely clamped hyphae of 2 - 3 µm diam. with slightly thickened walls. In the ridged region of the stipe many pseudocystidia protrude from the surface. Towards the base of the stipe these protrusions range in length from 50-100 by 5 - 13 µm, all inflated and thick-walled to some degree, clavate, strangulated or tapering apically, occasionally branched, decreasing in density towards the lamellae and thinner-walled. Pileipellis is mostly smooth but may have scurfy patches of tomentum made up of bundles of long, narrow (up to 2 µm diam.), colourless hyphae with occasional clamp connections, and protruding cylindrical or lanceolate, thin-walled pseudocystidia. No chlamydospores or amyloid hyphae found.
HABITAT: on dead wood in Nothofagus forest.
Stevenson (1964) described her collection as "Pileus 2 - 3.5 cm diam., ochraceous-salmon, orbicular, sessile, mostly laterally attached but sometimes dorsally, with an inrolled margin, imbricating, tough gelatinous texture, matt drying finely fibrillose; flesh firm, fawn. Gills decurrent, moderately crowded, rather thick, margins coarsely and irregularly serrate".
My observations indicate that the dried basidiomata are a pale yellowish brown to ochraceous (5CS--5D7, K&W), lamellae drying ochraceous (5B6-5C6), broad, not very crowded especially in larger basidiomata, edge dentate to finely lacerate; surface of pileus finely fibrillose, tomentose towards the base in some (? older) basidiomata, the pileipellis there bearing a tangled mass of fine hairs. Spores 5.0-6.0 x 3.5-4.0 (5.5 x 4) µm, Q = 1.3. Basidia 25 x 6 µm, four-spored. Pseudocystidia on the lamellae narrow and filiform or larger (up to 15 µm diam.), basically clavate, sometimes with a digitate apex; leptocystidia subulate, hyaline, thin-walled, fusiform. Subhymenium narrow, of rather thick-walled hyphae. Trama of parallel hyphae with broad, oleiferous hyphae next to the subhymenium. Context of thick- and thinwalled, interwoven hyphae, 5-6 µm diam., a few thick-walled hyphae in the upper context becoming faintly amyloid in Melzer's reagent. Pileipellis of 3-4 layers, hyphae 3 µm diam. with yellowish brown walls. Some slightly thickened, oleiferous hyphae concentrated in the upper context, the emergent ends transformed to simple or vermiform, thick-walled pseudocystidia (40-80 x 8-15 µm) on the pileal surface. Hairs arising from the pileipellis towards the attachment region narrow (4-5 µm diam.) with slightly thickened walls and one or two clamped septa.
Spores 4.0-5.5 x 3.5 4.5 (4.9 x 4.0) µm, Q = 1.2, subglobose, hyaline, wall strongly amyloid, with short peg-like ornamentation and distinct apiculus. Basidia 20 - 30 x 6 µm, clavate, mostly 4-spored, sometimes 2-spored, each with clamp connection on basal septum. Leptocystidia plentiful on all parts of the lamellae, mostly subulate, narrowly to broadly fusiform or narrowly lageniform, 30-60 x 3 - 12 µm, thin-walled, usually without contents and each with a clamp connection at the base. A few clavate to lanceolate pseudocystidia also present. Trama of more or less parallel, thin-walled, clamped, descending hyphae, up to 3 µm diam. Many parallel, oleiferous hyphae present, 3-5 µm diam., becoming contorted, with some empty segments and slight epimembranal incrustation, near the very narrow, cellular sub-hymenium. No thick-walled hyphae in trama. Trama ochraceous in KOH, negative in Melzer's reagent. Context of interwoven hyphae, relatively thin-walled, up to 6 µm diam., with plentiful oleiferous hyphae concentrated particularly near the pileipellis. Oleiferous hyphae up to 7 µm diam., often much contorted and with swellings up to 14 µm diam. Skeletal hyphae absent. Middle region of context dextrinoid but colour fades fairly quickly. Pileipellis of repent, interwoven, yellowish-brown, thin-walled hyphae, 2 - 3 µm diam., with many interspersed oleiferous hyphae, the ends of which protrude as numerous pseudocystidia, especially near the stipe attachment. Pseudocystidia clavate, lageniform or lanceolate, 50- 90 x 12 - 13 µm, walls only slightly thickened at first but those towards the stipe becoming thick-walled. Sections through the margin of the pileus show clusters of clavate cells 20-30 x 5 - 7µm, intermingled with basidia and pseudocystidia. The apices of these clavate cells become converted into thick-walled chlamydospores, subpyriform when first produced but after secession becoming subspherical, 5.5-8.0 x 4.5-6.5 (7.15 x 5.8) µm, Q = 1.2, with walls up to 3 µm thick, inamyloid, not dextrinoid. Stipe of more or less parallel hyphae up to 3 µm diam. with slightly thickened walls, together with oleiferous hyphae of slightly larger diameter and some thick-walled hyphae up to 6 µm diam., with walls up to 2 µm. Surface tomentum of stipe of tangled, hyaline, branched, narrow (up to 2 µm) clamped hyphae, mixed with oleiferous hyphal endings and a few fusiform leptocystidia; chlamydospores, detached from the margin of the pileus, are commonly found adhering to the tomentum hyphae, but never seen with a germ tube. The tough, bristly hairs up to 2 mm long that protrude through the tomentum consist of narrow (1-2 µm diam.), slightly thick-walled, brown, agglutinated hyphae, with occasional clamp connections.
ETYMOLOGY: Referring to the chlamydospores on the margin of pileus and the white edge of the lamellae.
The production of chlamydospores on the margin of the cap is a very distinctive character in Lentinellus marginatus. L. cochleatus seems to be the only other species reported to produce chlamydospores but they are described as being either on the stipe (Miller & Stewart 1971) or formed interstitially beneath the pileipellis (Breitenbach & Kranzlin 1991). Also, the basidiomata of L. cochleatus are different in form, with well developed, long stipes in tightly fused caespitose clusters (Miller & Stewart 1971).
L. flabelliformis: NORTH AMERICA: U.S.A.: Maine: Peenabscat Co., nr. Millinocket, H. E. Bigelow, 27 Jul 1962, HEB 582. New Hampshire: Dolly Capp Rd., H. E. Bigelow, 16 Aug 1963, HEB 12335. Maryland: Thurmont, O. K Miller, 1 Oct 1969, O.K.M. 8169.
Spores 3.5 -4.5 x 2.5-3 (4.1 x 2.7) µm, Q = 1.5, broadly ellipsoid, strongly amyloid and echinulate. Basidia 15 x 5 µm, broadly clavate, 4-spored. Remains of thin-walled, fusiform, subulate leptocystidia 20 x 4 µm on margin and face of lamellae. Pileipellis of repent dark yellowish brown (in KOH), more or less parallel, encrusted hyphae up to 6 µm diam., with epimembranal pigment in a network or deposited in patches. The pileal tomentum on the attachment region consists of a tangled mass of hyphae 3-4µm diam., with one or two septa and walls moderately thickened (c.1 µm thick). The upstanding bristly hairs in the middle region are up to 1 mm long, and are of similar but darker, agglutinated hyphae. Beneath the pileipellis is a region of closely packed, parallel, hyaline hyphae 5 - 6 µm diam., mixed with many oleiferous hyphae of similar diameter. Oleiferous hyphae emerge to the surface and their tips become thick-walled pseudocystidia, variable in size (20-60 x 10-20 µm) and shape (irregularly globose, clavate, ellipsoid, lageniform), without contents. Context of tightly interwoven, contorted hyphae 6 - mm diam., either thin-walled or thick-walled with little or no lumen, some amyloid in Melzer's reagent. Trama of thinwalled hyphae 3 - 5 µm diam., and contorted, thickwalled hyphae, some with blue patches on the walls in Melzer's reagent. Oleiferous hyphae mostly in the outer region of trama, adjacent to the narrow subhymenium, their ends protruding as cylindrical, thin-walled pseudocystidia 25 - 30 x 5-6 µm, on the lamellar face.
=Acanthocystis hepatotrichus (hepatotricha) (Berk.) Sing., Ann. mycol. 41: 148, 1943 [invalid combination, basionym not cited]. Acanthocystis was incorporated in Hohenbuehelia, with specific reference to L. hepatotrichus, by Singer, Lilloa 22: 255, 1949 (1951), but the transfer to Hohenbuehelia was not made because "the characters had not been checked on the type" (Singer 1949).
(a) Lentinus hepatotrichus Berk. In Hook.f., F1. Tasm. 2: 249, 1860 Colenso, Trans. N.Z. Inst. 23: 393, 1890.
The holotype material of L. hepatotrichus Berk., on stringy-bark gum-tree, Ovens rivulet, Tasmania, W. Archer 712, 1855, (holotype, K), was examined by Miller & Stewart ( 1971 ) who found the spores to be 3.5-4.5 x 3.0-3.8 µm, within the range for L. ursinus, and also described other features characteristic of L. ursinus but, because no basidiomata were complete enough to show details of the cuticle, they preferred to wait until fresh material was found before placing the name in synonymy. They made no comment on the identity of the Gentilli collection with larger spores, from Western Australia, named as Lentinellus hepatotrichus by Reid (1956), nor on Colenso's record of Lentinus hepatotrichus for New Zealand (Colenso 1890), based on a collection made near Dannevirke (Colenso b969, K).
This description fits that of Lentinellus ursinus (Fr.) Kuhner (Bresadola 1929; Pilat 1946, as Lentinus vulpinus (J.Sowerby) Fr.; Miller & Stewart 1971; Moser 1983; Breitenbach & Kranzlin 1991), confirming its presence in Australia.
Lentinus hepatotrichus was first recorded for New Zealand by Colenso, Trans. N.Z. Inst. 29: 393, 1890, based on the collection Colenso b969 sent to Kew and identified by Berkeley. A duplicate collection of Colenso's material from Herb PDD and other more recent collections listed below, possess all the characters described for the type of Lentinus hepatotrichus from Australia described above, and support its synonymy with L. ursinus in New Zealand. It will be shown later that Lentinellus hepatotrichus sensu Reid is a different species, L. pulvinulus (Berk.) Pegler, previously known only from Australia and confirmed there by Pegler (1965, 1983) and Miller & Stewart (1971) as a good species, close to L. flabelliformis (Bolton: Fr.) S.Ito.
Shown to be a synonym of Lentinellus ursinus by Pegler 1983.
Berkeley's (1855) description is "Subimbricated. Pileus 1 inch or more long and broad, thin, flabelliform, suborbicular or reniform, bay brown, clothed behind with short velvety olive down. Stem obsolete. Gills same colour as the pileus, narrow, decurrent behind; edge thin, lacerated. Closely resembling L. castoreus, of which I have an authentic specimen, but differing in size and narrow gills."
The type material (New Zealand: Colenso, Herb. Phillips, ex Herb. Berkeley, K) consists of 4 basidiomata up to 26 x 17 mm diam. Their characters all confirm Pegler's identification of the species as yet another synonym of L. ursinus.
Reinstated as Lentinellus crawfordii G.Stev. by Segedin et al. (1995) following the recognition that the type is a mixed collection of two species, one a Lentinellus sp., answering to Stevenson's description of L. crawfordii, and the other a species of Pleurotus, P. purpureo-olivaceus (G.Stev.) Segedin et al. Lentinellus crawfordii is described in full below.
The Stevenson collection consists of many small pieces which are apparently the shattered remains of two basidiomata. Two lateral stipes are recognisable, one paler than the other. All fragments have a dark-coloured pileal surface but some have grey lamellae which are concolorous with the lamellae on the pale stipe while the others have dark reddish brown lamellae matching the lamellae on the dark reddish brown stipe. The reddish brown fragments show the characters of Lentinellus, agreeing with Stevenson's description and illustration of L. crawfordii. The grey fragments show the characters of Pleurotus and match well with those of Pleurotus purpureo-olivaceus (G.Stev.) (Segedin et al. 1995). The latter is evidently the part of the collection studied by Miller & Stewart (1971) for which they made the superfluous combination Pleurotus crawfordii (G.Stev.) O.K.Mill. & L.Stewart, whereas the reddish brown fragments are from the basidioma originally described by Stevenson as L. crawfordii.
Cited scientific names
- Gloiocephala phormiorum E. Horak & Desjardin 1994
- Lentinellus crawfordiae G. Stev. 1964
- Lentinellus hepatotrichus (Berk.) D.A. Reid 1956
- Lentinellus hyracinus (Kalchbr.) G. Stev. 1964
- Lentinellus marginatus Segedin 1996
- Lentinellus pulvinulus (Berk.) Pegler 1965
- Lentinellus ursinus (Fr.) Kühner 1926
- Lentinus castoreus Fr. 1838
- Lentinus hepatotrichus Berk. 1859
- Lentinus hyracinus Kalchbr. 1880
- Lentinus novae-zelandiae Berk. 1855
- Lentinus pulvinulus Berk. 1859 [1860]
- Lentinus zelandicus Sacc. & Cub. 1887
- Pleurocollybia cremea (G. Stev.) E. Horak 1971
- Pleurotus crawfordiae (G. Stev.) O.K. Mill. & L. Stewart 1971
- Pleurotus hepatotrichus (Berk.) Cleland 1934