Swainsona 31: 17–26 (2017) © 2017 Board of the Botanic Gardens & State Herbarium (Adelaide, South Australia) A new species of small black disc fungi, Smardaea australis (Pezizales, Pyronemataceae), is described from Australia Pamela S. Catcheside a,b, Samra Qaraghuli b & David E.A. Catcheside b a State Herbarium of South Australia, GPO Box 1047, Adelaide, South Australia 5001 Email: [email protected] b School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, PO Box 2100, Adelaide, South Australia 5001 Email: [email protected], [email protected] Abstract: A new species, Smardaea australis P.S.Catches. & D.E.A.Catches. (Ascomycota, Pezizales, Pyronemataceae) is described and illustrated. This is the first record of the genus in Australia. The phylogeny of Smardaea and Marcelleina, genera of violaceous-black discomycetes having similar morphological traits, is discussed. Keywords: Fungi, discomycete, Pezizales, Smardaea, Marcelleina, Australia Introduction has dark coloured apothecia and globose ascospores, but differs morphologically from Smardaea in having Small black discomycetes are often difficult or impossible dark hairs on the excipulum. to identify on macro-morphological characters alone. Microscopic examination of receptacle and hymenial Marcelleina and Smardaea tissues has, until the relatively recent use of molecular Four genera of small black discomycetes with purple analysis, been the method of species and genus pigmentation, Greletia Donad., Pulparia P.Karst., determination. Marcelleina and Smardaea, had been separated by characters in part based on distribution of this Between 2001 and 2014 five collections of a small purple pigmentation, as well as on other microscopic black disc fungus with globose spores were made in characters. Their relationships have been much South Australia. Initially the fungus was identified as discussed (Donadini 1984; Pfister 1985; Moravec Marcelleina atroviolacea Brumm., since it conformed 1987; Haffner 1995; Perić 2001; Benkert 2005), but in all respects with a fungus previously collected in Korf & Zhuang (1991) followed Donadini (1979) in 1964 from Anglesea, Victoria, by Gordon Beaton. accepting two genera: Marcelleina (with Pulparia as a This collection had been sent by Beaton to the Royal synonym) and Smardaea (with Greletia as a synonym). Botanic Gardens, Kew, and described by Rifai (1968) as M. atroviolacea. The generic name Marcelleina was proposed by van Brummelen, Korf and Rifai in 1967 (Brummelen No other species of Marcelleina Brumm., Korf & Rifai 1967; Rifai 1968; Moravec 1987) in honour of Mme has been recorded in Australia, nor of other possibly Le Gal, an eminent French mycologist who specialised confusing genera such as Smardaea Svrček and Otidea in discomycetes. The genus Smardaea was proposed by (Pers.) Bonord, although species of the latter genus Svrček in 1969, named after František Šmarda, a Czech have been found in New Zealand (Atlas of Living botanist. Australia, ALA). There are no records of any species of Smardaea in the ALA or Australia’s Virtual Herbarium Species in the genera Marcelleina and Smardaea have (AVH). Those in the ALA and AVH of Marcelleina small, cupulate to saucer-like, sessile or subsessile, atroviolacea are of the collections from South Australia glabrous apothecia with violaceous-brown hymenium. covered in the present study and of Beaton’s collection The receptacle tissue of both is similar: ectal excipulum from Victoria. The ALA also records M. atroviolacea of globose or angular cells (textura globulosa or textura as being in New Zealand, but these collections had angularis) and medullary excipulum of interwoven been misidentified and were Pseudoplectania affinis septate hyphae (textura intricata). Asci are cylindrical M.Carbone, Agnello & P.Alvarado (P. Johnston, pers. and their apices do not turn blue in Melzer’s reagent. comm.; NZFungi2 2016). Pseudoplectania Fuckel also Paraphyses are septate and contain purple granules. Published online: 15 June 2017 • flora.sa.gov.au/swainsona ISSN 2206-1649 (Print) • ISSN 2206-1657 (Online) P.S. Catcheside et al. Swainsona 31 (2017) The two genera differ in that all Marcelleina species park in the inland city of Mendoza, on moist soil in have globose spores, the paraphyses are usually sandy groves. unbranched and, though the sterile tissue and paraphysis contents have purple pigmentation, the asci and ascospores are not necessarily purple. The spores Materials and methods of Smardaea may be globose or ellipsoid, paraphyses are usually branched and there is purple pigment in Habitat and associated plant communities were noted asci, ascospores, paraphyses and excipula (Benkert & in the field. Collection locations were recorded by Moravec 1986; Moravec 1987; Hansen & Knudson GPS, geodetic datum WGS84/GDA94 (Garmin 2000). GPS12) and in situ photographs taken (Nikon 4500). Macroscopic characters were described directly from Nine species of Smardaea are presently recognised fresh material. Colours are designated using the Royal (Index Fungorum), four of which have globose spores. Botanic Gardens Edinburgh Colour Chart (1969) and Of these only S. planchonis (Dun. ex Boudier) Korf given as colour descriptor and number, e.g. “rust 13”, & W.Y.Zhuang has smooth spores; S. reticulosperma and in general terms. Fresh material was dried in a food (Donadini, Riousset & G. Riousset) Benkert has dehydrator at 35°C for 24 h (Hydraflo 1000FD). reticulate spores, those of S. verrucispora (Donadini & Monier) Benkert are warty and S. marchica (Benkert Sections of fresh material and dried specimens were & J. Moravec) Benkert has subglobose, coarsely warted hand-cut and mounted in various media. For the spores. amyloid reaction, fresh material was stained with Melzer’s reagent and dried material was rehydrated in Eleven species of Marcelleina are listed in Index 5% NH4OH before staining. Water mounts were used Fungorum. Seven of these have ornamented spores to determine colour of context, 5% KOH and 5% with ornamentations ranging from warty-tuberculate, NH4OH were used to determine reaction to alkali, and ridged or partially to completely reticulate. Of the 5% H2SO4 to determine the acid reaction. four smooth-spored species, M. benkertii J.Moravec, M. chopraiana (L.R.Batra) S.C.Kaushal, M. parvispora Measurements were made using an Olympus BH-2 E.Rubio, Tabarés & M.A.Martinez and M. atroviolacea, microscope at ×400 or ×1000 with a calibrated ocular only the latter has purple colour in all tissues and micrometer. Spore dimensions are given as: length structures. The generic position of M. parvispora will be range × width range (n = 40) and Q ratio (spore length/ discussed later in this paper. spore width). Dimensions of asci are given as length range × width range (n = 20). A Nikon 4500 camera Korf & Zhuang (1991) synonymised Marcelleina was used to photograph microscopic characters. atroviolacea and Smardaea planchonis and erected the new combination Smardaea planchonis. Descriptions of Smardaea australis are based on the type Distribution and habitat of Smardaea planchonis collection, P.S.Catcheside 4079 (AD-C 58765), with Smardaea planchonis, albeit under its various synonyms, outlying measurements for other collections given in is widespread in the northern hemisphere (Rifai 1968; brackets. Photographs of fruit bodies and microscopic Perić 2001). The type locality is France and it has been characters are from the type collection. All South found in a number of countries in central and southern Australian collections have been accessioned into the Europe (Boudier 1887; Lagarde 1911; Donadini 1984; State Herbarium of South Australia (AD). AD numbers Moravec 1987; Marchetti & Franchi 1993; Haffner (AD-C nnnnn) are given in the Taxonomy section 1995; Perić 2001; Benkert 2005; Martin 2005; Cuesta together with the Collector’s number (PSC nnnn); in & Ribes 2006; Lantieri et al. 2009), the U.S.A. (Pfister other sections only the Collector’s number is used. 1985), Bermuda (Seaver 1928) and has been reported in Argentina in the southern hemisphere (Gamundí DNA Extraction, amplification and processing were 1960; Rifai 1968). as described in Catcheside et al. (2016). To place species of interest in the Pyronemataceae, sequences Smardaea planchonis is reported as growing in of the ribosomal RNA large subunit gene were aligned mostly sandy soil, often amongst moss and under with those of representatives of each of the currently Cupressaceae. For example, in Tuscany it has been recognised families and lineages chosen from those used found under Cupressus sempervirens L., C. glabra Sudw., by Hansen et al. (2013). Sequences were manipulated Juniperus oxycedrus subsp. macrocarpa (Sibth. & Sm.) with the Geneious 8.1.9 suite of programmes using Ball and J. phoenicea L. (Marchetti & Franchi 1993). Muscle for alignment and, for tree building, either Benkert (2005), in his discussion on the distribution neighbour joining (Fig. 8) or MrBayes (Fig. 9) using and ecology of S. planchonis, reported its presence the HKY85 substitution model, 4 heated chains for under Juniperus horizontalis Moench., J. chinensis 1,100,000 iterations including a burn-in of 100,000. “plumosa aurea” and Chamaecyparis obtusa (Siebold & Correlation between genetic and physical distance Zucc.) Endl. In the U.S.A. Pfister (1985) recorded it between collections was examined using the Pearson under Yucca. The Argentinian collections were from a product-moment test in R. 18 Swainsona 31 (2017) A new species of small black disc fungi, Smardaea