Journal on New Biological Reports 2(3): 188-227 (2013) ISSN 2319 – 1104 (Online) Flora of Aphyllophorales from Pune District- Part I Ranadive KR 1* , Jite PK 2, Ranade VD 3 and Vaidya JG 2 1Waghire College Saswad, Department of Botany, Pune – 412301, Maharashtra, India. 2Department of Botany, Mycology laboratory University of Pune, Pune – 411007, Maharashtra, India 3Abasaheb Garware College, Department of Botany, Karve Road, Pune, Maharashtra, India (Received on: 25 July, 2013; accepted on: 29 August, 2013) ABSTRACT The tropical forests of Pune District are mainly classified into Tropical stunted semi-evergreen forests, stunted semi- evergreen scrub forests, moist deciduous and dry deciduous forests. In the present study a total of 20 species of Aphyllophorales (8 families and 14 genera) from the 10 respective hosts were identified out of 126 collected specimens from 15 different localities throughout the Western Ghats of Pune districts, Maharashtra State . Key Words: Fungi, Maharashtra State, Pune, Western Ghats. INTRODUCTION Aphyllophorales order was proposed by In his “Essai Taxonomique ”, Patouillard made Rea, after Patouillard, for Basidiomycetes having groupings in polypores on the basis of such macroscopic basidiocarps in which the hymenophore characters as detailed hyphal morphology, structure is flattened (Thelephoraceae), club-like of the pileus and characters of basidia, spores and (Clavariaceae), tooth-like (Hydnaceae) or has the cystidia. He divided the Basidiomycetes into hymenium lining tubes (Polyporaceae) or some times Homobasidiomycetes with secondary spores and the on lamellae, the poroid or lamellate hymenophores Heterobasidiomycetes without secondary spores. The being tough and not fleshy as in the Agaricales. Heterobasidiomycetes were further subdivided Traditionally the order has had a core of four families according to the septation of the basidia. Species with based on hymenophore shape, as described above, transversely septate basidia were classified in the but recent detailed microscopic studies of basidiocarp Auriculariaceae, species with longitudinally septate structure has shown these groupings to be unnatural basidia in the Tremellaceae, and species with aseptate and the taxonomy of the order is at present in a state basidia in the Tulasnellaceae and Caloceraceae. The of flux. Donk (1964), who recognized 22 families are Homobasidiomycetes had non-septate basidia and now followed, (Hawksworth et al.1991). Keys to 550 were divided into four families as follows the spp. in culture are recognized by Stalper (Stalper, parasitic Exobasidiaceae, the gymnocarpous 1978). Aphyllophoraceae, the hemiangiocarpous Up to the end of the 19 th Century, all these Agaricaceae and the angiocarpous classifications were based on macro-morphological Gasteromycetaceae. Patoulillard divided the features of the sporophore. Patouillard (1900) was the Aphyllophoraceae into two tribes namely: Clavariales first mycologist who used microscopic characters for and Porohydnales. the delimitation of higher taxa. ___________________________________________ Corresponding author : [email protected] 188 Ranadive KR, Jite PK, Ranade VD and Vaidya JG British mycologists, Berkeley (1839) described about from tropical countries which initiated him to publish five hundred and sixty polypores. It was rather the classical work of “Study of some South African difficult to survey the group and no comprehensive resupinate Hymenomycetes ” (1951). He published a flora had been written for any country. Prof. Murrill review paper entitled “Micro-morphology of Lower (1903–1915) felt the need for a manual of the Hymenomycetes ” (1954). This paper concerned with American species and was a pioneer of the long macro and micro-morphological characters of series “Polyporaceae of North America ” (1903– Aphyllophorales, is still considered as an important 1908). Patouillard’s system was also adopted by literature in understanding the sexual, accessory and Bourdot and Galzin (1928), in their classical manual. hyphal configuration of basidiocarp of They realised that several species which they Aphyllophorales. Many regional floristic studies considered to be closely related, had to be placed in were carried out during the last 50 years and these different groups. Donk (1931, 1933) also provided a basis for a more sound and natural fundamentally used the Patouillardian system but his classification for Aphyllophorales. Donk (1964) generic concepts were mainly based on microscopical reviewed all the progress and proposed a new characters. Donk (1960) in his work considered the conspectus for the families of “Aphyllophorales ”. taxonomic status of all published genera until then. It Parmasto (1968) discussed inter-relationships in has resulted in establishment of many monotypic Corticiaceae and related families. genera. His work is based on Patouillard, Murrill and Taxonomy of Aphyllophorales is still in a Berkeley, who studied Aphyllophorales from state of flux, as a result, Gilbertson (1980) made an different parts of the world. Corner (1932 a, b) effort to develop a system based on phylogeny. distinguished three possible types of hyphae which Generic monographs on Aphyllophorales published may be present in the basidiocarps, namely, by Gilbertson (1977-1978), Ginns (1982), Julich generative, skeletal and binding hyphae. Corner (1984) and also type species studies have revealed a introduced the concept of ‘hyphal system’ and thus lot of ambiguity in confirming the status of old opened a new era in the field of modern taxonomy. traditional species. But very recently good effort has The major significance of Corner’s findings been taken by Kim S.Y. and Jung H.S. in 2000 on the was first realized by Cunningham who applied Phylogenetic classification of the Aphyllophorales Corner’s system in his paper “Notes on classification was conducted based on the analysis of nuclear small of Polyporaceae ”, (1946). Later, in a series of subunit ribosomal RNA gene (nuc SSU rDNA) publications he emphasized the value of thorough sequences. Based on phylogenetic groupings and analysis of hyphal systems in the better taxonomic characters, 16 families were recognized understanding of a species. Donk’s series on and discussed. Although many of the characters had resupinate Hymenomycetes (1954, 1956 a, 1956 b, more or less homoplasies, microscopic characters 1957, 1958) and Eriksson’s studies on resupinate such as the mitic system and clamp, spore amyloidity Aphyllophorales of the Muddus National Park in and rot type appeared to be important in the Sweden (1958), greatly altered the generic classification of the Aphyllophorales. delimitation within the Corticiaceae. Boidin (1958 b, Phylogenetically significant families were newly 1959 a, b) published three essays on the genus defined to improve the classification of the order Stereum and redescribed a number of genera. Lowe, Aphyllophorales. (Kim and Jung, 2000)Till the end monographed the American species of Fomes (1957), of 19 th century all the studies on Aphyllophorales Poria (1966), Tyromyces (1975), Reid (1965) were based on external morphological features of monographed the stipitate steroid fungi of the world. basidiocarps (Persoon, 1801; Fries, 1821). Patouillard Mass-Geesteranus revised many of the hydnoid fungi (1900) was a pioneer worker to bring about a change of the Eastern old world (1971). The monographs by in this trend of research by introducing microscopical Eriksson of the genus Peniophora (1950), of characters in taxonomic study. Aleurodiscus by Parmasto’s (1968) ‘Systematic The present work deals with the species Survey of the Corticiaceae ’ together with the studied from the family Corticiaceae with non-poroid voluminous work of Eriksson and Ryvarden on the hymenium, Polyporaceae and Hymenochaetaceae ‘Corticiaceae of North Europe ’ (1973, 1975, 1976) with poroid hymenium. The external morphology of were important contributions to our knowledge of the basidiocarps of non-poroid and poroid this group of Basidiomycetes. Talbot in his earlier Aphyllophorales differ from each other. The work studied many specimens of Aphyllophorales morphology of non-poroid Aphyllophorales was 189 Journal on New Biological Reports 2(3): 188-227 (2013) studied by Prof. Talbot and he published a review National and International work on “Micro morphology of the lower Hymenomycetes ” Aphyllophorales: (1954 a), while the morphology of poroid Studies on Aphyllophorales were initiated Aphyllophorales was published by Gilbertson and along with the launch of studies on Indian fungi. The Ryvarden (1986) in “North American Polypores, first Indian record of a member of the Vol. I ”. The delimitations of the Aphyllophorales Aphyllophorales can be traced to Koltzsch (1832) in from the Agaricales and the Termellales has not yet his paper on Indian Polyporaceae. Later Berkeley been definitely established (Bondarzew and Singer, (1839) described a few Indian polypores which were 1941; Oberwinkler, 1972) and the position of genera collected by W. J. Hooker. During the first quarter of such as Polyporus , Pleurotus , Lentinellus , the 20 th century, Massee (1901, 1906, 1908 and 1910) Ceratobasidium and Tulasnella is still a matter of published several accounts of Indian fungi based on dispute (Oberwinkler, 1972; Roy 1976). collections sent to Kew Herbarium by several The literature on the Aphyllophorales is vast workers, notably by Sir Butler (1905a, b, c, d and and can be conveniently divided into four major parts 1918). Several Indian