An emendation of the genus Morganella ZELLER (Lycoperdaceae) With 2 plates and 3 figures

Abstract

The authors give an emended delimitation of the genus Morganella ZELLER (Gasteromycetes) and discuss its taxonomic position and its geographic distribution. Seven species are recognized; six new combinations are made and one new species (M. afra KREISEL & DRING) is described. The only original species, M. mexicana ZELLER, is a synonym of M. fuliginea (BERK. & CURT.) KREISEL & DRING, but one of the collections, cited by ZELLER as M. mexicana, belongs to M. velutina (BERK. ex MASS.) KREISEL & DRING.

Morganella arenicola, a new species record from North and Northeast Brazil

“…A similar characteristic between these 2 species are the basidiospores (Figure 3) (Cunningham, 1926(Cunningham, , 1944, which display the same ornamentation pattern in scanning electron microscopy ( Figure 4). Other closely-related species, such as Morganella afra Kreisel & Dring, differ from Morganella arenicola in their endoperidium, which is areolate in the former, and in the occurrence of only the paracapillitium (Kreisel and Dring, 1967 close to M. arenicola, differs in its reticulate endoperidium and an irregular apical pore (Cunningham, 1944;Ponce de Leon, 1971), which is well defined in M. arenicola ( Figure 2). Morganella arenicola exhibits eucapillitium (Figure 3) as in Morganella pyriformis (Schaeff.)…”

“…With the aim of carrying out a comparative study, the holotype of Morganella compacta, from the New Zealand Fungal and Plant Disease Collection (PDD), was used. Macroscopic and microscopic analyses were conducted according to the literature (Zeller, 1948;Kreisel and Dring, 1967;Ponce de Leon, 1971;Suárez and Wright, 1996). Micromorphological dates were observed after rehydration in 5% KOH and/or with the aid of Melzer's reagent (Asef and Muradov, 2012;Kumari et al, 2013).…”

First report of Morganella compacta (Agaricales, Lycoperdaceae) from South America

“…More recently, Larsson & Jeppson (2008) Members of Morganella are characterized by producing epigeal basidiomata, up to 5 cm in height, with the presence of an apical pore and a sterile base. It differs from Vascellum F. Šmarda in the absence of a diaphragm and from Lycoperdon in the absence of a true capillitium and the presence of a paracapillitium (Kreisel & Dring 1967, Suárez & Wright 1996, Cortez et al 2007, Bates et al 2009). Kreisel & Dring (1967) note that most species are lignicolous, occurring on decomposing trunks and branches.…”

“…It differs from Vascellum F. Šmarda in the absence of a diaphragm and from Lycoperdon in the absence of a true capillitium and the presence of a paracapillitium (Kreisel & Dring 1967, Suárez & Wright 1996, Cortez et al 2007, Bates et al 2009). Kreisel & Dring (1967) note that most species are lignicolous, occurring on decomposing trunks and branches. However, there are records of the genus from other substrates, such as M. subincarnata growing on moss (Smith 1951, as Lycoperdon subincarnatum) and M. fuliginea on soil organic matter (Suárez & Wright 1996) and organic-poor soil and rocks (Reid 1977).…”

“…in 1948 and since then has been sporadically studied by a number of taxonomists such as Kreisel & Dring (1967), Ponce de León (1971), Morales et al (1974) and more recently by Suarez & Wright (1996), Krüger & Kreisel (2003), and Cortez et al (2007). According to Kreisel & Dring (1967) it has a similar distribution pattern to that of the genus Bovista Pers., with worldwide occurrence, although most of the species are only known from the neotropical zone. More recently, Larsson & Jeppson (2008) Members of Morganella are characterized by producing epigeal basidiomata, up to 5 cm in height, with the presence of an apical pore and a sterile base.…”