PHYTOLOGIA BALCANICA 15 (3): 299 – 304 Sofia, 2009 299

Recording and mapping the Mediterranean mycota: the case of Sicily (S Italy)

Giuseppe Venturella

Department of Botany, University of Palermo, 38, Via Archirafi St., I-90123 Palermo, Italy, e-mail: [email protected] Received*

Abstract. The assessment of fungal diversity in the Mediterranean area is considered by mycologists as a priority target. In recent times a number of associations, commissions and international networks recognized fungi as important tools to be included in research projects. The newly established Mediterranean Working Group with the European Mycological Association could be the focal point for increasing mycological research in the Mediterranean area. According to its strategic position in the Mediterranean Basin, Sicily could be considered a centre of diversity and a reference area. The evaluation and exploitation of fungal biodiversity in Sicily is illustrated here.

Key words: mapping, Mediterranean fungi, recording, Sicily

Introduction The conservation of fungi is a very important tool and conservation strategies must be based on knowl- In the last 15 years a number of scientific institutions, edge of the of fungi, distribution patterns mycological societies and mycological amateur groups and field ecology. Inventories provide an idea of fun- have paid more attention to recording, mapping and gal diversity, mapping programmes should yield use- conservation of fungi. Presently the scientific communi- ful information about the rarity of species, their even- ty is engaged in recognizing the important role of fungi tual decline and their heritage value. Inventories and and in emphasizing that fungi are important organisms mapping form the basis for publication of the Red Da- to be preserved from decline. At the fourth conference ta Lists (Courtecuisse 2001). in Valencia (Spain, 2004), the Planta Europa Network In Italy the efforts of the Working Group for Mycolo- undertook a review of the European Plant Conserva- gy of the Italian Botanical Society were mainly addressed tion Strategy and Critical Targets. Target 6 for 2007 was to the publication of the Checklist of Italian Basidiomyc- the development of a provisional European Plants and etes. The checklist is the result of an agreement between Fungi Red List, depending on the performance of the the Italian Ministry of Environment and the Universi- IUCN European Plant Specialist Group. ty of Tuscia in Viterbo, largely implemented and revised At European level, some relevant activities were within the framework of programs launched by the Ital- carried out by the newly set European Mycological ian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research. Association and the European Council for the Con- The huge number of data to be managed to compile a servation of Fungi. list of the entire Italian mycobiota opted for a start only with the . In fact macrofungi Basidiomyc- * Presented as a plenary lecture at the 5th Balkan Botanical Con- etes are more easily recordable and are usually collected gress (Sofia, 2006) and identified by a large number of mycologists. 300 Venturella, G. • Recording and mapping the Mediterranean mycota

In the above-mentioned checklist, most of the In contrast with the interest evinced in the vascu- records are reported at the level of species, only few lar flora and, consequently, the huge number of relat- as subspecies and many as varieties and forms. Each ed scientific papers, cryptogams in general and fun- specific and infraspecific name is reported as bino- gi in particular were for a long time ignored by the mial or trinomial, followed by the author’s name and researches. The starting point of modern mycologi- synonyms. cal investigation in Sicily was the publication of the The most important nomenclature sources were Checklist of Sicilian Fungi (Venturella 1991) based on the Dutch Checklist of Arnolds & al. (1995) and the literature and field data. CABI Bioscience Database of Fungal Names (http:// In 1991, the mycological flora of Sicily was quan- www.indexfungorum.org/Names/Names.asp). titatively represented by 1532 species and 32 varieties, In the Checklist of Italian Fungi, the term Rare both of macromycetes and micromycetes, referred to used for 295 taxa was not based on IUCN categories, 189 families and 496 genera. These data were record- since long-term observations are lacking. The distri- ed, together with 248 scientific papers published be- bution in each region is also reported, along with leg- tween 1814 and 1990. islative data, if available, and 4296 taxa are listed on At that time Mount Etna and the northern moun- the basis of 22757 records (Onofri 2005). In terms of tain chains of the Caronie and the Madonie Mts were the Italian regions and the corresponding number of moderately explored. Thanks to the studies of a my- recorded fungi, Sicily makes stands out as one of the cological amateur Catanzaro, under the supervision richest regions of Italy. of Prof. Ceruti at Torino University, the islet of Pan- According to Flora Europaea, Sicily, the small sur- telleria was the most investigated area, along with the rounding islets and the Malta Archipelago are con- neighbourhood of the small town of Mazara del Vallo sidered as a distinct floristic district and areas of high in the Trapani province. phytogeographic interest in the Mediterranean region. Until 1991 the most investigated provinces were The vascular and cryptogamic floras of Sicily result Catania, Palermo, Trapani and Messina, while the from the convergence of different floristic elements number of fungi recorded during the investigations in which may coexist in a diversity of environments. the other provinces was negligible. The vascular flora of Sicily had been well investi- The increase of mycological investigations in the gated from the 17th century onwards. The number of last ten years permitted the evaluation of the number native species in the vascular flora amounts to ca. 2700 of fungi in different forest ecosystems and substrata taxa, belonging to 137 families and 800 genera. Many and the biodiversity of Sicilian fungi within the whole authors also pointed out the correspondence between territory. A huge number of taxa were recorded in oak Sicilian, North African and Middle East floras. woods, beech woods and artificial forests, such as con- The vegetation types of Sicily belong to the “Med- ifer and chestnut woods. iterranean zone”, with six recognizable different veg- In Sicily, the influence of climate on fructification etation belts. The vegetation belts are characterized of basidiomata and ascomata is evident and some- by different forest ecosystems such as Mediterrane- times the emergence of species considered rare at lo- an maquis, mixed oak woods and woods of Quer- cal and European level, or related strictly to the Med- cus ilex L., Q. suber L., Castanea sativa Mill., Fraxi- iterranean area, corresponds to the unusual climatic nus oxycarpa M. Bieb., and F. ornus L. From 1200 to conditions. 2000 m a.s.l. Q. petraea (Matt.) Liebl. and Ilex aquifo- In such cases application of the term Rare is incor- lium L., Fagus sylvatica L., Betula aetnensis Raf., and rect and we prefer to use the term Infrequent. Pinus laricio Poir. woods are present on the Madon- The finding of Entoloma plebeioides (Schulz.) ie, Nebrodi, Peloritani Mts, and on the Etna volcano. Noordel., Amanita tarda (Trimbach) Contu, Amani- A wide part of the area is covered by mixed afforest- ta pseudolactea Contu, and Colus hirundinosus Cav. & ed woodlands, with Pinus, Eucalyptus and Cupressus Séch. set a good example of the influence of climatic species. conditions on the growth of infrequent species. The Woody areas cover ca 10 % of the territory and climatic trend of the year 2001 in Palermo has been are mainly concentrated in the hinterland and on the characterized by a long drought period from June to mountains. mid-November. Afterwards temperatures drastical- Phytol. Balcan. 15(3) • Sofia • 2009 301 ly dropped down, followed by an unusual number of perate regions, and its stomata are preferentially en- rainy days. Such unexpected climatic variation, very countered on Fraxinus species. Reports on its occur- unusual for a region like Sicily characterized by a rence in Sicily and the Canary Islands gave impetus to thermo-Mediterranean climate, could have probably evaluate these specimens, resulting in the recognition brought about E. plebeioides, a species never collected of D. macaronesica and D. martinii, respectively (Sta- before and considered rare and restricted to North Eu- dler & al. 2004). rope only (Venturella 2002). The current results indicate that diversity with- The Laboratory of Mycology in Palermo started in Daldinia is probably much higher than ever an- another investigation into the neglected group of lig- ticipated. nicolous fungi, both Aphyllophorales and Corticiace- Daldinia martinii was found in Sicily to colonize ae. More than 250 taxa have been recorded so far in fallen branches of Quercus suber, a Mediterranean different forest ecosystems and on a huge number of oak species, as well as the trunks of pecan trees (Car- woody substrata (Saitta & al. 2004). ya olivaeformis Nutt.) of American origin at the Bo- In 1997 the Working Group for Mycology of the tanical Garden in Palermo. Hence, it is difficult to de- Italian Botanical Society proposed a preliminary list cide whether the species was eventually introduced of 23 species of macrofungi, believed to be threatened to Sicily from outside Europe, or if it had invaded in Italy. These taxa were referred to the IUCN catego- the garden from Italian hosts. In the former case it ry K, a category not yet considered in the last edition might well be more widely distributed in the oak for- of the IUCN criteria (Venturella & al. 1997). ests and plantations of Mediterranean Europe; if in- According to the preliminary red list and the inves- troduced along with an alien host plants, this species tigations carried out in Sicily, 32 taxa should be con- might be encountered among specimens previously sidered Infrequent in Sicily and only two taxa as Rare: characterized as other taxa of Daldinia from outside Rhodotus palmatus (Bull.) Maire and nebro- Europe. densis (Inzenga) Quélet. Daldinia raimundi was originally reported on Recent additions to the number of Sicilian fungi Quercus ilex in Sicily as D. concentrica pro parte. This are represented by 232 taxa in the province of Trapa- report gave impetus to study materials from Sicily in ni, 185 taxa in the province of Agrigento and 83 taxa comparison with the authentic materials of D. con- in the province of Caltanissetta. Furthermore, over centrica. One of those indeed turned out to be com- 1000 taxa were recently reported for the province of pletely in agreement with D. concentrica with regard Palermo (Venturella & al. 2005). The mycological in- to both its anamorphic and teleomorphic features. D. vestigations of the eastern sector of Sicily are still in raimundi was found to differ from other specimens progress. and other records of D. concentrica in its teleomor- The methodology of mapping is based on the phic and anamorphic morphology and in the more sheets of the Italian Official Map System, at a scale of conspicuous ornamentation of its ascospore peris- 1:50000. Each sheet records the name of the more rep- pore by SEM. resentative locality and a three-digit code and is di- vided into 64 subunits. The methodology adopted 2. Pleurotus on Umbelliferous plants permits the publication of distribution maps for each There are various species of Pleurotus in Sicily, with recorded species. good organoleptic qualities, which grow as saprobes on the root residues of various Umbelliferous plants. Case studies The P. eryngii species complex includes populations of choice edible , growing in the Mediterra- nean area in close association with different genera of 1. Genus Daldinia Ces. & De Not. plants of the family . The taxonomy of D. concentrica s.l. has to be re-evalu- The study on Pleurotus growing on Umbelliferous ated although such species have been known for a long plants is oriented towards the analysis of isolates sam- time and is regarded as common in its area of distri- ples, so as to define groups within the population, to bution. It is now generally accepted that D. concentrica delimit species, to look for phylogenetic relationships occurs primarily in West and North Europe, in tem- among the taxa, to exploit the biotechnological poten- 302 Venturella, G. • Recording and mapping the Mediterranean mycota tial of selected fungi, and to promote ecosystem con- Forty-six dikaryotic strains belonging to the P. er- servation and sustainability of natural resources. yngii species complex, isolated from five different Five taxa with different host plants were de- host-plant genera, were examined with the RAPD- scribed: (DC. : Fr.) Quélet var. PCR and isozyme techniques and evaluated in com- eryngii on Eryngium campestre L., P. e r y ng ii var. bination with ecological and morphological observa- elaeoselini Venturella, Zervakis & La Rocca on tions of basidomata. Elaeoselinum asclepium (L.) Bertol. subsp. ascle- The methodology adopted in collaboration with pium, P. e r y ng ii var. ferulae Lanzi on Ferula commu- the Institute of Kalamata (Greece) consisted in the es- nis L. subsp. communis, P. e r y ng ii var. thapsiae Ven- tablishment of dikaryons in pure culture, enzyme ex- turella, Zervakis & Saitta on Thapsia garganica L., traction, starch-gel electrophoresis, and analysis of the and P. nebrodensis (Inzenga) Quélet on Cachrys fer- isozyme data. Furthermore, DNA extraction, Pleuro- ulacea (L.) Calest. tus RAPD-PCR analysis and statistical analysis were Each taxon is characterized by different habi- also carried out. tat specialization and allochrony. Among the record- The use of RAPD-PCR and isozyme analyses per- ed taxa P. nebrodensis on Cachrys ferulacea is the on- mitted grouping of the P. e r y ng ii complex isolates ly taxon that grows at an altitude higher than 1400 m into five main clusters, in accordance with the sep- and with a fructification period concentrated within aration of individual populations by host specializa- approximately 40 days between the end of April and tion. Pleurotus isolates growing on Cachrys ferulacea the first decade of June. formed a distinct group, with relatively high statisti- Research is carried out on the elucidation of tax- cal support. onomy within the P. eryngii group, aiming to obtain Therefore, their separation from the rest of the biological material ready to be exploited for breeding population examined and their classification within purposes. Field surveys of the Pleurotus taxa growing a distinct taxonomic entity at the species level, i.e. P. on Umbelliferous plants were carried out in Sicily and nebrodensis, seems well justified and confirms reports each taxon was evaluated in respect to its taxonomi- based on morphology (Venturella & al. 2000). cal, morphological, anatomical, distributional, and ec- All other strains were positioned within the larger ological characteristics. P. eryngii group, which was further divided into four Pleurotus nebrodensis, sub Agaricus nebroden- main clusters, corresponding to Eryngium, Ferula, sis, was described by Giuseppe Inzenga in 1863. Af- Elaeoselinum, and Thapsia hosts. ter that publication the author’s suggestion of A. ne- Since fungi have been recently considered by the brodensis as a distinct species was confirmed by Elias Specialist Group for Fungi inside the Species Surviv- Fries. Subsequently, many authors demoted it to syn- al Commission (SSC) of the IUCN-The World Con- onymy, or reduced it to an infraspecific rank, but this servation Union as organisms to be listed for identi- interpretation was not confirmed by Zervakis & Ven- fication of threatened fungi, to be taken into account turella (1998). for conservation strategies, to promote actual conser- Pleurotus nebrodensis has been known since an- vation drives for the threatened fungi, and for testing cient times, and the present-day natural product, and improving the Red List criteria and categories, a somewhat difficult to find, is sold on the Madonie ter- specific dossier for P. nebrodensis was prepared and ritory (northern Sicily) at a price between Euro 50 to submitted to IUCN. In 2005, P. nebrodensis was clas- 70 per kilogram. Since it is scarce, the natural prod- sified as CR, according to IUCN criteria. In fact, such uct has no real market, but is used only by a few res- mushrooms show a high level of exploitation, occur in taurants and is offered in many traditional recipes. areas less than 100 km2, their population is character- The increasing number of gatherers, both ized by a low number of mature individuals, and the professional and amateur, who are encouraged by the population size is less than 250 mature individuals. high prices fetched by these products, puts this mush- More recently, IUCN/SSC Mediterranean Island room at the risk of extinction in the near future. Ac- Plants Specialist Group recognized P. nebrodensis cording to IUCN criteria, there have been moves to as a valuable species to be included among the TOP assign to P. nebrodensis the status of Critically Endan- 50 Mediterranean Island Plants (de Montmollin & gered (CR) species. Strahm 2005). Phytol. Balcan. 15(3) • Sofia • 2009 303

Courtecuisse (2001) recognized different conser- the beds, and the first harvest can begin after 18–20 vation strategies for fungi: days. After approximately a week, other mushrooms • In situ conservation: a) conservation of natural sprout, ready to be harvested in about 10 days. habitats especially valuable for fungi (mycologi- Mushroom production happens in two rounds, the cal reserves); b) biological corridors with positive first of which yields approximately 70–80 % of the to- effects on the survival and restoration of various tal production. Under optimal conditions production plants and animals. It is quite likely that they may levels are on par with approximately 28–30 % of the also have positive effect on fungal populations. weight of the compost. The yields amount approxi- • Ex situ conservation: among the proposed strat- mately to 15–18 kg of mushrooms per square meter, egies of fungi conservation at European level the and vary from 0.5 to 1.5 kg per bag of compost. cultivation of saprotrophic species at risk of extinc- It is hoped that with intensive cultivation, the de- tion and/or confined to very limited or threatened cline of this important genetic resource can be slowed habitats is a valuable option. down or halted and, along with this, prices can be lowered so that the product can be offered to a wider Cultivation of P. nebrodensis is carried out in tun- range of consumers. nels made of metal arches and varying in length from 20 to 30 metres, covered by a black net that provides 3. Hypogeous fungi 90 % shade. Starting from the year 2000, a research team accompa- Two or three mushroom beds are made inside the nied by dogs trained in the search of hypogeous fun- tunnel, each one meter long and separated by a path of gi was involved in field investigation in different forest about 50 cm. The beds may be below ground level, in a ecosystems of Sicily, in order to widen the knowledge hole in the ground 20 to 25 cm deep, or elevated above on hypogeous fungi, to confirm data reported in lit- ground and placed on tables or some other facilities, erature and, for the first time, to provide distribution so as to create a containing wall 25 cm high. maps of species recorded in the region. The tunnel must be equipped with a humidifier, A huge number of hypogeous and semi-hypogeous with irrigation tubes and nozzles arranged above the fungi were collected, belonging to the genera Balsa- planting area, or by a simple manual watering device. mia Vittad., Elaphomyces Nees, Endogone Link, Fischer- The beds are arranged with bags of incubated ula Mattir., Genea Vittad., Geopora Harkn., Hydnan- compost, placed next to each other, and only the top gium Wallr., Hydnocystis Tul., Hymenogaster Vittad., part of the plastic container should be carefully re- Hysterangium Vittad., Labyrinthomyces Boedijn, Leu- moved. These bags contain the mycelium of mush- cogaster R. Hesse, Melanogaster Corda, Pyrenogaster rooms gathered from the areas where they grow Malençon & Riousset, Radiigera Zeller, Rhizopogon Fr. naturally. When the sacks are arranged on the mush- & Nordholm, Setchelliogaster Pouzar, Stephensia Tul., room bed and opened at the top, the surface of the and Tuber F. H. Wigg. compost is then covered with a 1–2 cm thick layer Truffles are economically important and legal- of soil, taking care to fill first the empty spaces be- ly commercialized in Italy, which has laid down the tween the bags. foundations for their cultivation projects in Sicily. The mycelium is isolated and left to develop in bot- tles containing seeds of cereal grains. The compost is Discussion composed of straw and remains from processing of other cereal plants, which are humidified and proper- ly mixed. The compost is then closed in temperature- There are still some unsolved problems in the Mediter- resistant sacks of polypropylene weighing 4 kg, placed ranean region, such as absence of an adequate number in special baskets, and put into a sterile environment, of mycologists, absence of pertinent mycological stud- where they are inoculated with special syringe with ies at the universities and research institutions, prob- the previously obtained mycelium, and incubated at lems in the collaboration between scientists and my- 25 °C until the mycelium is fully developed. cological amateur associations, difficulties in alerting Eight to ten days after planting, under optimal cli- the broader scientific community to the importance of matic conditions, the mushrooms begin to appear in fungi, and difficulties in persuading the policy-mak- 304 Venturella, G. • Recording and mapping the Mediterranean mycota ers and funding organizations of the need to support References fungal diversity studies. Arnolds, E., Kuyper, T.W. & Noordeloos, M.E. 1995. Overzicht van Such problems were discussed during a Forum of de Paddestoelen in Nederland. Tweede ongewijzigde herdruk (met Mediterranean Mycology organized in Palermo in correcties). Nederlandse Mycologische Vereninging, Wijster. 2004. During the Forum, all participants agreed with Courtecuisse, R. 2001. Current trends and perspectives for the the need to establish a Working Group of Mediterra- global conservation of fungi. – In: Moore, D., Nauta, M.M., nean Mycology as a branch of the European Mycolog- Evans, S.E. & Rotheroe, M. (eds), Fungal Conservation. Issue and Solutions. Pp. 7-18. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge. ical Association (EMA) and to harmonize the actions De Montmollin, B. & Strahm, W. 2005. The Top 50 Mediterranean of different mycological institutions in Europe. Island Plants. Wild Plants at the Brink of Extinction, and what is The proposal to establish a Working Group of Needed to Save them. Inform. Press, Oxford. Mediterranean Mycology (MMWG) was accepted by Onofri, S. 2005. Checklist dei funghi italiani. Carlo Delfino editore, EMA Governing Committee in Prague. It included Sassari. representatives from around the Mediterranean and Saitta, A., Bernicchia, A. & Venturella, G. 2004. Contributo alla from other European countries with a Mediterrane- conoscenza dei funghi lignicoli della Sicilia. – Inform. Bot. Ital., an climate. 36(1): 192-202. The objectives of the MMWG are: Stadler, M., Wollweber, H., Jäger, W., Briegert, M., Venturella, 1. To promote mycological research, recording, map- G., Castro, J.M. & Tichy, H.-V. 2004. Cryptic species related to Daldinia concentrica and D. eschscholzii, with notes on D. bakeri. – ping, and conservation of fungi; Mycol. Res., 108(3): 257-273. 2. To develop ethical and scientific methodological Venturella, G. 1991. A checklist of Sicilian fungi. – Bocconea, 2: standards; 5-221. 3. To encourage scientific debates among the Mediter- Venturella, G. 2002. First record of Entoloma plebeioides in Italy. – ranean mycologists; Mycotaxon, 84: 119-120. 4. To collect information on literature data, checklists, Venturella, G., Perini, C., Barluzzi, C., Pacioni, G., Bernicchia, Red Lists and mapping projects in the Mediterra- A., Padovan, F., Quadraccia, L. & Onofri, S. 1997. Towards a nean countries; Red Data List of fungi in Italy – Bocconea, 5(2): 867-872. 5. To encourage the mycological amateur associations Venturella, G., Zervakis, G., La Rocca, S. 2000. Pleurotus eryngii to collaborate with universities; var. elaeoselini var. nov. from Sicily. – Mycotaxon, 76: 419-427. 6. To establish an essential link between EMA and Venturella, G., Saitta, A. & Tamburello, M. 2005. La biodiversità OPTIMA, Planta Europa, ECCF and other nation- fungina della provincia di Palermo (Sicilia). I. Dati ecologici e distributivi; II. Carte di distribuzione. Primo rapporto aggiornato al, or international mycological institutions; al 30 ottobre 2004. ISPE Archimede editrice. Palermo 2005. Zervakis, G. & Venturella, G. 1998. Towards the elucidation of the This group is open to all types of contribution and systematics of the Pleurotus taxa growing on Umbellifers. – In: Proc. cooperation from other mycologists. Sixth Int. Mycol. Congress. Jerusalem 23-28 August 1998.