Gasteroid mycobiota of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil: Lysuraceae (Basidiomycota)

As part of a review of gasteroid mycobiota from Rio Grande do Sul State, in southern Brazil, members of the Lysuraceae (Phallales) family were studied. Fresh and herbarium specimens were analyzed macroand micromorphologically. Lysurus cruciatus, L. cruciatus var. nanus (new record from Brazil) and L. periphragmoides have been collected in the area. Their specific limits, distribution and ecological data are discussed. Macroscopic photographs and line drawings of the basidiospores are presented.


Introduction
Phallales E. Fisch.(Basidiomycota) comprises gasteroid fungi that have a gelatinous gleba and usually spread an odor akin to rotten meat.The unpleasant smell is directly related to the dispersal of basidiospores attracting arthropods, such as flies and bees (OLIVEIRA; MORATO, 2000;TUNO, 2002).Other species, in contrast, have developed pleasant scents similar to those of some orchids, as is the case of the tropical American species Staheliomyces cinctus E. Fisch.(BURR et al., 1996).Fungi in the Phallales are among the most attractive and mythic mushrooms and are known worldwide in many cultures for their medicinal properties, food value, or as evil entities (LAESSØE;SPOONER, 1994;OSO, 1976;PEGLER et al., 1995).
The present paper belongs to a series of studies on the gasteroid fungi of southern Brazil (CORTEZ et al., 2008a(CORTEZ et al., , 2008b(CORTEZ et al., , 2008c(CORTEZ et al., , 2009(CORTEZ et al., , 2010) and aimed at reviewing the diversity of Lysuraceae in the mycobiota of Rio Grande do Sul State, based on the study of fresh and herbarium specimens following the most recent systematic arrangement proposed (HOSAKA et al., 2006).

Material and methods
Fresh specimens were collected in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil, from March 2006 to December 2008, and are deposited at the ICN herbarium (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Instituto de Biociências).Collections deposited at the ICN, HURG, and PACA herbaria were reviewed.Descriptions of the species are based entirely on the examined materials and include morphological description of macroand microscopic features (DRING, 1980;MILLER JR.;MILLER, 1988).Color codes follow Kornerup and Wanscher (1978).Synonyms are according to Dring's (1980) monograph; only names reported in the Brazilian literature were considered in order to update their nomenclature.
Habitat: growing on soil, at forest edges.
Remarks: This is the most widespread member of Lysurus, which have been reported from all continents (DRING, 1980).The type of this species is from French Guyana, but L. cruciatus has been re-described from many localities under several names -an exhaustive list of synonyms is provided by Dring (1980).The names included in the above synonymy are those used by Braun (1932) and Rick (1961) for their collections from Rio Grande do Sul.The specimens identified as L. mokusin (Cibot ex Pers.)Fr. (BRAUN, 1932;RICK, 1961) are actually L. cruciatus because they lack the longitudinally costate stipe, a diagnostic feature of the species.The specimens studied were collected in sandy soils among grasses or near the forest edges.Figures 2 and 4B.Basidiomata 59-71 mm high.Receptacle formed by a pseudostipe with a basal volva and apex formed by arms bearing the gelatinous gleba.Pileus consisting of 5-6 arms, 9-12 mm long, firstly united, then becoming free at maturity, color orange yellow (4B8) before maturity, internal surface convex, grooved to rugose and external surface slightly concave, smooth.Gleba slowly becoming deliquescent, olive brown (4F4) at maturity, odor fetid.Pseudostipe 44-58 × 7-9 mm, subcylindrical to slightly conical, white, hollow, consistency and surface spongy.Volva present at the base of stipe, 14-21 ×13 mm, saccate, white (4A1), covered with sand, basal rhizomorphs present.Basidiospores 3.5-4.5 × 1.5-2 μm, ellipsoid, hyaline, smooth and thin-walled.
Habitat: Growing on sand or sandy soil, among grasses.
Selected descriptions and illustrations: Calonge and Marcos (1992), Martín et al. (2005).Remarks: This taxon differs from the typical variety due to its smaller basidiomata, intense orange and free arms of the receptacle that slowly becomes olivaceous (CALONGE; MARCOS, 1992).Although the variety was described in detail by Calonge and Marcos (1992), it was only nomenclaturally validated by Calonge (2000), where holotype and isotype were correctly designated.Further studies by Martín et al. (2005) showed that differences at molecular level are neither significant enough to separate both varieties nor correlated with any ecological or morphological features.The specimens from southern Brazil were collected among grasses on sandy soils and near coastal areas, and represent a new record for the country.
Habitat: Growing on soil and litter, in or near forests.