VERHANDELINGEN DER KONINKLIJKE NEDERLANDSE AKADEMIE VAN WETENSCHAPPEN, AFD. NATUURKUNDE TWEEDE REEKS, DEEL 60, No. 3 HYONACEOUS FUNGI OF THE EASTERN OlO WORlO R. A. MAAS GEESTERANUS NORTH-HOLLAND PUBLISHING COMPANY - AMSTERDAM, LONDON - 1971 ISBN 72048222 4 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS: CATALOGUE CARD NUMBER 71-170886 AANGEBODEN: DECEMBER 1970 AANVAARD: JANUARI 1971 GEPUBLICEERD: NOVEMBER 1971 CONTENTS PREFACE ... 5 GENERAL PART 7 THE AREA AND lTS NAME 7 MATERlAL AND METHODS 8 THE TERM BASIDIOME . 11 CYSTIDIA .... •. 11 TAXONOMIC PART . 13 KEy TO THE GENERA 13 AURISCALPIACEAE 14 Auriscalpium 14 Gloiodon . 21 BANKERACEAE 23 Bankera .. 24 Phellodon . 26 CORTICIACEAE 41 Sistotrema. 42 GOMPHACEAE 43 Beenakia . 44 Terenodon 45 HERICIACEAE 48 Hericium . 48 Stecchericium 56 HYDNACEAE .. 63 Hydnum . 64 STECCHERINACEAE 77 Steccherinum . 77 THELEPHORACEAE 84 Hydnellum . 84 Sarcodon ... 107 GENERA OF UNKNOWN AFFlNITY 130 Climacodon . 130 Mycoleptodonoides . 149 Mycorrhaphium . 152 UNASSIGNED NAMES 159 SURVEY OF LLOYD'S HYDNUM COLLECTIONS 162 REFERENCES 168 INDEX 172 PLATES I-VIII PREFACE The present work is a revision of a selection of hydnaceous Basidiomy­ cetes of the Asiatic-Australian region. It embraces most, but not all, pileate Hydnums, and includes the stipitate species, but contains also some forms that are not stipitate. It is far from complete, and probably cannot be for a long time. I have not scoured all herbaria in search of pos­ sible specimens, have thus far neglected the collections of the "Labora­ toire de Cryptogamie" at Paris, have been unsuccessful in tracking down certain references which might yield records from the area under consider­ ation and, finally, have failed to give a satisfactory answer to several problems posed by the material. Despite its shortcomings, however, there is probably little to be gained by postponing its publication. This paper should be seen as a preIiminary guide, to be followed by further explor­ ation in the field and more extensive studies in the laboratory and her­ barium. It may be added, however, that the exploration should follow with as little delay as possible, for soon there will be no forests left to fumish the Hydnums for study. It may be recalled that Hydnum in its broad sense is a name formerly given to any fungus with an aculeate hymenophore. Although it is univer­ sally recognized nowadays that fungi so constructed do not form a homo­ geneous group, the name Hydnum or hydnaceous fungus is nevertheless retained as a useful term familiar to taxonomist and collector alike. A mere glance at the various hydnaceous genera listed bij DONK (1964: 272-273) is sufficient explanation why at present a revision of all the diverse taxa and for so large an area is an impracticable undertaking. This task simply must be split up into smaller parts. The part I chose for myself is shaped after the conventional example of COKER & BEERS' work (1951), augmented with such genera of which the inclusion presented no serious difficulties. I fully realize, however, that many pitfalls lie in wait for the beginner who hopefully and unsuspectingly tries to identify what he considers to be a hydnaceous fungus. Leaving aside the (probably slight) possibility of the expectant mycologist having found a spine-bearing heterobasidiomyce­ tous fungus, there is a good chance that many a specimen is referable to some polyporaceous species-often "Irpex" flavus. I must wam him, for hydnoid Polypores are not dealt with in this work. I am not at all conver­ sant with Polypores and not bold enough to include the hydnoid or irpic­ oid forms in my key on the evidence of a description made by someone else. Besides, if I should include such forms, I could hardly bar the way to several more hydnoid Corticiaceae, to the hydnoid genus Gyrodontium (Coniophoraceae), and to some irpicoid Steraeceae. The reader, I am 6 HYDNACEOUS FUNGI OF THE EASTERN OLD WORLD afraid, will have to learn by trial and error whether his fungus belongs to a genus treated in this paper. The reader no doubt will be surprised and disappointed to find that in Steccherinum no more than two species are dealt with. The reason is that this genus is long in need of monographic treatment. Some initial work has already been done, but I expect th at I shall need a few more years for the completion of this revision. Thus far distinction of the species in Steccher­ inum depended on characters of which the value had not been investigated systematically. It would seem moreover that morphological characters alone may not suffice to prove or disprove relationships. I am indebted to several persons and institutions for the help extended in the preparation of this paper. It virtually rests on two very important collections-Professor E. J . H . Corner's Hydnums, presented to the Rijks­ herbarium, and Lloyd's Herbarium, lent by the Director of the National Fungus Collections (BPI). I gratefully acknowledge their generous contri­ bution. Several ofthe coloured illustrations in this paper have been repro­ duced from paintings executed by Prof. Corner (in his possession) and Mrs. G. Stevenson Cone, Roxburgh, New Zealand (preserved at Kew). Special thanks are due to them for their kind permission. I am also grate­ ful to the Director of the Herbarium, Kew, for his consent to bOITOW Mrs. Cone's water-colours. lam under obligation to Dr. S. Ahmad, Lahore, Dr. and Mrs. A. B. Cribb, Brisbane, Dr. E. Horak, Birmensdorf, Prof. Dr. J . A. Nannfeldt,Uppsala, Mr. J. H . Willis, South Yarra, Melbourne, and to the Directors and Keepers of the herbaria at Auckland (PDD), Bogor (BO), Ithaca (CUP), Kew (K), Manila (PNH), and München (M) for material, either lent or presented, as weIl as for information. Some of the species treated in this paper are part of a mycological col­ lection made by the author and Dr. C. Bas in NW India in 1964. Finan­ cial aid for this expedition was received from the "Netherlands Organiza­ tion for the Advancement of Pure Research (Z.W.O.)." GENERAL PART THE AREA AND lTS NAME As shown in the map below, the countries under discussion occupy an area roughly the shape of an inverted triangle with buIging sides (Fig. 1). They are West Pakistan, Jammu & Kashmir, India, Tibet, Nepal, Sikkim, East Pakistan, China, Japan, Ceylon, Thailand, "Indochina", Philippines, Sumatra, Malay PeninsuIa, Borneo, Java, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Australia, New Caledonia, Tasmania, New Zealand, and the Samoa Islands. I hasten to admit the inconsistency in this list, the inequality of its elements, since names like Borneo and New Guinea, which are geographical denominations, seem ill-placed among those of nations whose boundaries are of a political nature. The logical remedy would be to assign the politic­ ally different parts of the offending islands to their respective nations, but I doubt whether the resulting arrangement would be reaIly convenient. In botanicalliterature the denotation Australasia is often encountered, but cannot be used in this case. Australasia was confined by FERGUSON (1970: 5) within the following limits: "The area covered includes Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, the Pacific islands west of 1350 W to 1050 E and northwards to the Tropic of Cancer i.e. including Micronesia, the Hawaiian Islands and Easter Island but excluding the Galapagos, San Fernandes and the islands of the east coast of Asia." Clearly, the term in Ferguson's sense is meant to cover an area largely without Japan and the Asian continent, but it is weIl known that other authors, e.g. Dockrill (1967), restrict the term so far as to include only Australia and New Zealand. Another name sometimes seen is Indo-Australia, but this is equaIly unsuitable as it excludes Japan. The possibility was then considered of introducing the name Asiaustralia, thereby indicating the geobotanical equality of the two components, but the idea was abandoned as the name seemed likely to create confusion, and somehow looked ungainly. The name The Orient, as used in The Times Atlas (edit. BARTHOLO­ MEW, 1958: pI. 9), corresponds quite weU with the area demarcated in the present paper, and certainly offers the advantage of an unambiguous denomination not being encumbered with geobotanical notions. The objection that could be raised, however, (if it is really an objection) is that on account of its historical roots and implications the name will always be in danger of being misunderstood. Perhaps there is not a single completely satisfactory name, so it is not without some apprehension that the area under consideration is here finally indicated as The eastern Old World. It may be asked whether the area is not too large really to be captured 8 RYDNAOEOUS FUNGI OF THE EASTERN OLD WORLD 80 00 100 ilO IZO ilO 100 180 170 ~ . ,,:._--' ,.,.,r .0 " 40 .. ,:. i 10 ..; ' ,.: .:: ':".:' ," " ...... , . ..... 10 . ,~.. <;:": :- ',; • .e . ',:.~" .. , .. Y - ------- -------- 30 .~ d·I Fig. 1. The eastern Oid World. under one heading. The answer to this is that in the present stage of our knowledge of the Hydnums the exclusion of any country within the area would be feit as an undesirable omission. Thus far so little is known of the Hydnum flora of each country separately that, however great their physical, climatic, and vegetational differences, for the present these countries are best lumped together. A factor of considerable weight, moreover, is the realization that to see the material of a vast extra-European area is a healthy experience that does not fail to broaden one's views. MATERIAL AND METHODS The great majority of the material investigated consists of dried speci­ mens. Professor Corner often took care also to preserve some fragments in liquid (25 % aethanol, 4 % formalin), but, given the choice between dried and wet, I always preferred the former. First, colour and texture of the dried specimen provide clues not to be dismissed.