ARS | Publication request: Sebacinoid Species from the Pakaraima Mountains of Guyana

Submitted to: Mycotaxon
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: May 5, 2004
Publication Date: July 10, 2004
Citation: Henkle, T.W., Roberts, P., Aime, M.C. 2004. Sebacinoid species from the pakaraima mountains of guyana. Mycotaxon. v.89(2) pp.433-439.2004

Interpretive Summary: Fungi have received scant consideration in studies of biological diversity despite their considerable importance in agricultural and natural ecosystems. Fungi remain one of the most poorly characterized groups of organisms in the world. Of special paucity are data regarding fungal species in tropical regions. The fungi in a remote region of a Neotropical rainforest in Guyana are being surveyed to document their occurrence and function in this unique ecosystem. In this paper, two species of jelly fungi related to rust and smut fungi are described and reported from this region for the first time. Evidence suggests that these fungi are symbiotic with the dominant overstory tree in this tropical region. This research will be used by mycologists, ecologists, and conservation scientists who are documenting disappearing biological diversity.

Technical Abstract: Two sebacinoid basidiomycetes, possibly ectomycorrhizal with Dicymbe corymbosa (Caesalpiniaceae), are reported from the Pakaraima Mountains of western Guyana. One is a Tremellodendron species, for which the new combination T. ocreatum is proposed. The other is a Sebacina species indistinguishable from the cosmopolitan S. incrustans.