Fungi of Australia

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Mycena interrupta in Myrtle Forest, Collinsvale, Tasmania Mycena interrupta.jpg
Mycena interrupta in Myrtle Forest, Collinsvale, Tasmania

The Fungi of Australia form an enormous and phenomenally diverse group, a huge range of freshwater, marine and terrestrial habitats with many ecological roles, for example as saprobes, parasites and mutualistic symbionts of algae, animals and plants, and as agents of biodeterioration. Where plants produce, and animals consume, the fungi recycle, and as such they ensure the sustainability of ecosystems.

Contents

Knowledge about the fungi of Australia is meagre. Little is known about aboriginal cultural traditions involving fungi, or about aboriginal use of fungi apart from a few species such as Blackfellow's bread ( Laccocephalum mylittae ). Humans who came to Australia over the past couple of centuries brought no strong fungal cultural traditions of their own. Fungi have also been largely overlooked in the scientific exploration of Australia. Since 1788, research on Australian fungi, initially by botanists and later by mycologists, has been spasmodic and intermittent. At governmental level, scientific neglect of Australian fungi continues: in the country's National Biodiversity Conservation Strategy for 2010–2030, fungi are mentioned only once, in the caption of one illustration, [1] and some states currently lack mycologists in their respective fungal reference collections.

The exact number of fungal species recorded from Australia is not known, but is likely to be about 13,000. [2] The CSIRO has published three volumes providing a bibliography of all Australian fungal species described. Volume 2A was published in 1997, [3] and Volume 2B was published in 2003. [4] Unlike the Flora of Australia series they are bibliographic lists and do not contain species descriptions.

The total number of fungi which actually occur in Australia, including those not yet discovered, has been estimated at around 250,000 fungal species, including about 5,000 mushrooms, of which roughly 5% have been described. [2] Knowledge of distribution, substrata and habitats is poor for most species, with the exception of common plant pathogens. [5] One result of this poor knowledge is that it is often difficult or even impossible to determine whether a given fungus is a native species or an introduction.

History

Aseroe rubra, at Springbrook, Queensland Stinkhorn Springbrook.jpg
Aseroë rubra , at Springbrook, Queensland

Early collections in Western Australia were made by James Drummond and Ludwig Preiss in the early to mid-19th Century. They sent their specimens to W.J. Hooker at Kew and Elias Magnus Fries respectively.

John Burton Cleland conducted the first systematic review of Australian fungi in a landmark monograph of fungal specimens at the South Australian Herbarium. Comprising some 16,000 specimens, this included fungi from elsewhere in the country as well as South Australia. He was assisted by such people as Edwin Cheel, keeper of the Herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Leonard Rodway of Tasmania and Phyllis Clarke (later North), who provided some watercolour paintings. These three were honoured with at least one specific epithet of new species described by Cleland. [6] This resulted in two comprehensive volumes (1934–35) on the larger fungi of South Australia, and was reprinted in 1976. These were reworked and published in 1997 as Larger Fungi of Southern Australia by contemporary mycologist Cheryl Grgurinovic, though funding only allowed the publication of a volume on larger fungi. [7]

Bruce Fuhrer and Tony Young, whose book was first published in 1982 and has been revised several times since, have been instrumental in promoting Australian fungi to the general public with popular books on fungi in Australia. [8] [9] Published knowledge is augmented by locally produced guides in Western Australia, [10] Queensland and Tasmania. [11]

Diversity

Ascomycota

Commonly called ascomycetes, this group, the Ascomycota, is likely to be the largest fungal phylum in Australia in terms of species numbers. Australia's ascomycetes include some large and conspicuous fungi, but the fruiting bodies produced by most species are less than about 1 cm in their largest dimension. The range of habitats they occupy is the same as for the fungi as a whole. Most of Australia's lichen-forming fungi belong in this group. With a few exceptions, the ascomycetes of Australia are very poorly known, and many remain undiscovered. Partly because of their importance in forestry, species associated with Eucalyptus trees have received considerable attention and, with hundreds known to be associated with some of the more studied tree species, it is clear that these fungi form a huge, complex and important component of Australia's forests. [12] Charismatic species include the "golf-ball fungi" (species of the genus Cyttaria ) which occur only on living branches of Nothofagus trees. Australia's native truffles (subterranean ascomycetes) form another distinct and interesting group which remains poorly known. [13]

Basidiomycota

Representatives of all three subdivisions of the Basidiomycota are found in Australia. These are the Agaricomycotina (bracket fungi, jelly fungi, mushrooms and toadstools, puffballs etc., i.e. most of the species commonly understood to be fungi), the Pucciniomycotina (rust fungi), and the Ustilaginomycotina (smut fungi).

Agaricomycotina

A rounded earth star (Geastrum saccatum), in Mount Field National Park, Tasmania Geastrum saccatum.jpg
A rounded earth star ( Geastrum saccatum ), in Mount Field National Park, Tasmania

Native species are very poorly known, with most taxa undescribed. For those that have been, there are huge gaps in knowledge, especially with respect to distribution and, for the larger species, edibility. Reasons for this include the brief and unpredictable appearance of fruiting bodies, often the only evidence of most species, and the fact that there has been comparatively little scientific attention focused upon fungi in Australia. [14]

There are several exceptions; one is the family Hygrophoraceae, which has been written about by mycologist A. M. (Tony) Young in 2005. [15] Another is a treatment of the genus Mycena in Southeastern Australia. [16] The genus Amanita has been the subject of two reviews but a microscope is still needed to distinguish many species and coverage has concentrated in Australia's eastern regions. [17] [18] Alec Wood has also published a study of the genus Galerina , describing 29 species, 21 of them new, primarily in New South Wales. [19] A more usual state of affairs is that reported by Roy Watling with regard to boletes, that in Australia, it appears to be rich in species yet only a minority are described. [20]

Amanita muscaria, in Tasmania Amanita muscaria Marriott Falls 1.jpg
Amanita muscaria , in Tasmania

With the notable exception of the gigantic Phlebopus marginatus , possibly Australia's largest mushroom, many of the most conspicuous fungi have been introduced in association with exotic soil and trees; Lactarius deliciosus , Chalciporus piperatus , Suillus luteus and Suillus granulatus are European fungi found in pine plantations in Eastern Australia. The deadly Amanita phalloides is found under Oak in urban Canberra and Melbourne and has caused deaths. There are concerns at least one of them, Amanita muscaria is spreading into (and forming new mycorrhizal associations with) native Nothofagus woodland and possibly displacing local species. [21] Lawns, farms and parklands see exotic fungi such as the shaggy ink cap ( Coprinus comatus ), the poisonous Chlorophyllum molybdites and several species of Agaricus , including the edible A. bisporus and A. campestris as well as mildly poisonous A. xanthodermus .

Mycorrhiza of Rhizopogon luteolus was deliberately introduced to improve the performance of pines in pine plantations in Western Australia in the early part of the 20th century. [6]

The stinkhorn-like species Aseroë rubra is significant in that it is the first fungus species known to have been introduced in the other direction, namely to Europe, from Australia. It was recorded growing on soil transported from Australia in a glasshouse in Kew Gardens in 1829. [22]

Pucciniomycotina

Rust fungi are a large group of plant parasites. Many of them are highly host-specific. Some cause significant losses to economic crops, and where the crop itself is an introduction to Australia, the rusts on that crop may also be non-native. Rusts on native species are likely to form an important component of the natural checks and balances of native ecosystems, and may have their own distinctive conservation needs. There seems to have been no compilation of information about the rust fungi of Australia since the detailed monograph by McAlpine (2006). [23]

Ustilaginomycotina

These fungi are parasites, mainly of flowering plants. Unlike the Agaricomycotina, they are usually small and easily missed by the untrained eye. These fungi are most easily noticed when they produce their fruiting structures, called sori, which are most often confined to the host flower, but may also sometimes be seen on fruits and leaves. In Australia, 296 smut species from 43 genera have been recorded. [24]

Non-Dikarya

Apart from fungi of the subkingdom Dikarya, such as those described above (Ascomycota and Basidiomycota), some non-Dikarya fungi are known to have relatively high diversity in Australia; e.g. Backusella . [25]

Mycologists

Selected mycologists that have made significant contributions to Australian mycology:

Literature

Many of the books on Australian fungi are listed below: [26] [27] [28]

General

Region or taxon specific

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Amanita muscaria</i> Species of mushroom

Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a basidiomycete of the genus Amanita. It is a large white-gilled, white-spotted, and usually red mushroom.

The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in others some cells develop into sterile cells called cystidia (basidiomycetes) or paraphyses (ascomycetes). Cystidia are often important for microscopic identification. The subhymenium consists of the supportive hyphae from which the cells of the hymenium grow, beneath which is the hymenophoral trama, the hyphae that make up the mass of the hymenophore.

<i>Phlebopus marginatus</i> Species of fungus

Phlebopus marginatus, commonly known as the salmon gum mushroom in Western Australia, is a member of the Boletales or pored fungi. An imposing sight in forests of south-eastern and south-western Australia, it is possibly Australia's largest terrestrial mushroom, with the weight of one specimen from Victoria recorded at 29 kg (64 lb). Initially described in 1845 as Boletus marginatus, and also previously known by scientific names such as Phaeogyroporus portentosus and Boletus portentosus, it is not as closely related to typical boletes as previously thought.

<i>Amanita xanthocephala</i> Species of fungus

Amanita xanthocephala, known as the vermilion grisette, pretty grisette or vermilion amanita is a colourful mushroom of the genus Amanita. It is found in Australia in association with Eucalyptus and may be toxic to humans.

Alec E. Wood was a mycologist affiliated with the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia who published major studies, describing a large number of new species, in the genera Galerina and Amanita. With Tom May, he co-authored Fungi of Australia Volume 2A, Catalogue and Bibliography of Australian Macrofungi - Basidiomycota in 1997.

<i>Omphalotus nidiformis</i> Species of bioluminescent fungus in the family Marasmiaceae

Omphalotus nidiformis, or ghost fungus, is a gilled basidiomycete mushroom most notable for its bioluminescent properties. It is known to be found primarily in southern Australia and Tasmania, but was reported from India in 2012 and 2018. The fan or funnel shaped fruit bodies are up to 30 cm (12 in) across, with cream-coloured caps overlain with shades of orange, brown, purple, or bluish-black. The white or cream gills run down the length of the stipe, which is up to 8 cm (3 in) long and tapers in thickness to the base. The fungus is both saprotrophic and parasitic, and its fruit bodies are generally found growing in overlapping clusters on a wide variety of dead or dying trees.

<i>Psilocybe subaeruginosa</i> Species of agaric fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae

Psilocybe subaeruginosa is a species of agaric fungus in the family Hymenogastraceae described in 1927 and known from Australia and New Zealand. As a blueing member of the genus Psilocybe it contains the psychoactive compounds psilocin and psilocybin.

<i>Porpolomopsis lewelliniae</i> Species of fungus

Porpolomopsis lewelliniae, commonly known as the mauve splitting wax-cap, is a gilled fungus of the waxcap family found in wet forests of eastern Australia and New Zealand. The small mauve- or lilac-coloured mushrooms are fairly common and appear in moss or leaf litter on the forest floor in autumn, and are biotrophic. The key distinguishing feature is the splitting of the cap dividing down the middle of the individual gills.

<i>Russula delica</i> Species of fungus

Russula delica is a mushroom that goes by the common name of milk-white brittlegill, and is a member of the genus Russula, all of which are collectively known as brittlegills. It is mostly white, with ochraceous or brownish cap markings, and a short robust stem. It is edible, but poor in taste, and grows in coniferous, broadleaved, or mixed woods. It can be confused with other white Russula species and certain white Lactarius species.

<i>Macrolepiota clelandii</i> Species of mushroom-forming fungus

Macrolepiota clelandii, commonly known as the slender parasol or graceful parasol, is a species of mushroom-forming fungus in the family Agaricaceae. The species is found in Australia and New Zealand, where it fruits singly or in small groups on the ground in eucalypt woodlands, parks, and roadsides. It is a tall mushroom up to roughly 20 cm (8 in), with a broad cap covered with distinctive rings of dark brown scales. The whitish gills on the cap underside are closely spaced and free from attachment to the slender stipe, which has a loose ring on its upper half, and a bulbous base. The edibility of the mushroom is not known with certainty, but closely related parasol mushrooms are edible and some are very sought after.

<i>Cortinarius archeri</i> Species of fungus

Cortinarius archeri is a species of mushroom in the genus Cortinarius native to Australia. The distinctive mushrooms have bright purple caps that glisten with slime, and appear in autumn in eucalypt forests.

<i>Mycena nargan</i> Species of fungus in the family Mycenaceae

Mycena nargan, commonly known as the Nargan's bonnet, is a species of fungus in the family Mycenaceae, and the sole member of the section Nargan in the genus Mycena. Reported as a new species in 1995, it is known predominantly from Southern Australia. The saprobic fungus produces mushrooms that grow on well-decayed wood, often on the underside of wood lying in litter. The dark chestnut-coloured caps are covered with white, easily removed scales, and reach diameters of up to 2 cm (0.8 in) wide. The pale, slender stems are up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long and have white scales at the base. On the underside of the cap, the cream-coloured gills are widely spaced and bluntly attached to the stem. The edibility of the mushroom is unknown.

Derek Agutter Reid was an English mycologist.

<i>Pholiota communis</i> Species of fungus

Pholiota communis is a species of fungus in the family Strophariaceae. It is found in Southeastern Australia. The small brown mushrooms appear in leaf litter of pines and eucalypts in autumn and winter.

<i>Amanita ochrophylla</i> Species of fungus

Amanita ochrophylla is a fungus of the family Amanitaceae native to southeastern Australia. Its large and distinctive buff fruit bodies are common after rainfall.

<i>Austropaxillus infundibuliformis</i> Species of fungus

Austropaxillus infundibuliformis is a species of fungus in the family Serpulaceae. A mycorrhizal species, it grows in the eucalypt forests of southeastern Australia. It is readily recognised by its tawny yellow colour, large size and forked decurrent gills.

Roy Watling, PhD., DSc, FRSE, F.I.Biol., C.Biol., FLS is a Scottish mycologist who has made significant contributions to the study of fungi both in the identification of new species and correct taxonomic placement, as well as in fungal ecology.

<i>Austrocortinarius australiensis</i> Species of fungus

Austrocortinarius australiensis, commonly known as the skirt webcap, is a species of mushroom in the family Cortinariaceae which is native to Australia and New Zealand. The white mushrooms appear in autumn and can grow very large, with their caps reaching 30 cm (12 in) in diameter.

<i>Fistulinella mollis</i> Species of fungus

Fistulinella mollis, commonly known as the marshmallow bolete, is a bolete fungus in the family Boletaceae found in Australia.

<i>Cortinarius sublargus</i> Species of fungus

Cortinarius sublargus is a species of fungus in the family Cortinariaceae native to Australia. It was described in 1928 by John Burton Cleland from the Mount Lofty Ranges. Cleland also described Cortinarius radicatus in 1933 from material collected in Willunga Hill, Waitpinga, Mount Lofty, Mount Compass, and Kinchina, Though Cleland regarded them as distinct, later authorities determined them to be the same species. The latter name turned out to be a homonym, having already been given to a different species.

References

  1. ↑ "Australia's Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2010-2030" (PDF). Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  2. 1 2 Pascoe, I.G. (1991). History of systematic mycology in Australia. History of Systematic Botany in Australasia. Ed. by: P. Short. Australian Systematic Botany Society Inc. pp. 259-264.
  3. ↑ T.W.May & A.E.Wood (1997) Fungi of Australia Volume 2A: Catalogue and Bibliography of Australian Macrofungi 1. Basidiomycota. CSIRO Publishing. ISBN   0-643-05929-6
  4. ↑ T.W. May, J. Milne, S. Shingles & R.H. Jones (2003) Fungi of Australia Volume 2B: Catalogue and Bibliography of Australian Fungi 2 Basidiomycota p.p. & Myxomycota p.p. CSIRO Publishing. ISBN   0-643-06907-0
  5. ↑ May, T.W. 2001. Documenting the fungal biodiversity of Australasia: from 1800 to 2000 and beyond. Australian Systematic Botany 14: 329-356
  6. 1 2 Cleland JB (1976). Toadstools and mushrooms and other larger fungi of South Australia. South Australian Government Printer. p. 326.
  7. ↑ Ratkowsky, David (1998). "Book Reviews: Larger Fungi of South Australia (Grgurinovic, C.A.) & Fungi of Southern Australia (Bougher, N.L. & Syme, K.)" (PDF). The Tasmanian Naturalist (120): 53–56. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-05-12. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
  8. ↑ Fuhrer B. (2005) A Field Guide to Australian Fungi. Bloomings Books. ISBN   1-876473-51-7
  9. ↑ Young AM (2004). A Field Guide to the Fungi of Australia. University of New South Wales Press. ISBN   0-86840-742-9.
  10. ↑ Griffiths, K (1985). A Field Guide to the Larger Fungi of the Darling Scarp & South West of Western Australia. self. p. 80. ISBN   0958970505.
  11. ↑ Fuhrer B, Robinson R (1992). Rainforest Fungi of Tasmania and Southeast Australia. CSIRO Press. ISBN   978-0-643-05311-3.
  12. ↑ Sankaran, K.V., Sutton, B.C. & Minter, D.W. (1995). A checklist of fungi recorded on Eucalyptus. Mycological Papers170: 1-376.
  13. ↑ Beaton, G. & Weste, G. (1977). The genus Labyrinthomyces. Transactions of the British Mycological Society69 (2): 243-247.
  14. ↑ Bougher NL, Syme K (1998). Fungi of Southern Australia. Nedlands, WA: University of Western Australia Press. ISBN   1-875560-80-7.
  15. ↑ Young AM (2005). Fungi of Australia: Hygrophoraceae. CSIRO. ISBN   0-643-09195-5.
  16. ↑ Grgurinovic CA. (2002). The genus Mycena in south-eastern Australia. Fungal Diversity Press, Hong Kong, & Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra, ISBN   962-86765-2-0
  17. ↑ Reid DA. (1980). A monograph of the Australian species of Amanita Pers. ex Hook. (Fungi). Australian Journal of Botany, Supplementary Series 8, 1–96
  18. ↑ Wood AE. (1997) Studies in the genus Amanita (Agaricales) in Australia. Australian Systematic Botany10: 723-854
  19. ↑ Wood AE (2001) Studies in the genus Galerina. Australian Systematic Botany14, 615–676
  20. ↑ Watling R, Hui LT (1999). Australian Boletes: A Preliminary Survey. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. ISBN   1-872291-28-7.
  21. ↑ IMC8 Fungus of the Month - April 2005:The Fly Agaric menace [ permanent dead link ]
  22. ↑ Entwisle T; Catterns A (2003-07-29). "Starfish Fungus:Tim Entwisle talks to Angela Catterns on 702 ABC Sydney — 29 July 2003". Royal Botanic Gardens website. Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney. Archived from the original on 2007-09-04. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
  23. ↑ McAlpine, D. (1906). The Rusts of Australia, their Structure, Nature and Classification. Victoria, Department of Agriculture.
  24. ↑ Vánky, K. & Shivas, R.G. (2008). Fungi of Australia: the Smut Fungi. Australian Biological Resources Study / CSIRO Publishing. ISBN   978-0-643-09536-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ↑ Urquhart A. S., Douch J. K., Heafield T. A., Buddie A. G., Idnurm A. (21 September 2020). "Diversity of Backusella (Mucoromycotina) in south-eastern Australia revealed through polyphasic taxonomy". Persoonia. 46: 1–25. doi:10.3767/persoonia.2021.46.01. PMC   9311390 . PMID   35935894.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  26. ↑ CSIRO Archived 2014-02-20 at the Wayback Machine , publication listing
  27. ↑ Fungibank Archived 2013-05-10 at the Wayback Machine , listing of Australian fungi publications,
  28. ↑ Fungimap Archived 2014-02-04 at the Wayback Machine , bookstore listing various publications
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