Geastrum trichiferum Rick, 1907

Trierveiler-Pereira, Larissa & Da Silveira, Rosa Mara B., 2012, On the Geastrum species (Geastraceae, Basidiomycota) described by Rick, Phytotaxa 61 (1), pp. 37-46 : 40-42

Geastrum trichiferum Rick , in Lloyd, Mycol. Writings 2: 314, 1907 [as ‘ Geaster trichifer ’]. ( Figs. 3 , 4 )

= Geastrum hirsutum Baseia & Calonge, Mycotaxon 95: 302, 2006, syn. nov.

Lectotype (designated here): — BRAZIL. J. Rick, C.G. Lloyd’s Collection cat. no. 54716 (BPI 706086!).

Unexpanded basidiomata subglobose to obovoid, apex rounded or acute; 0.3–0.4 cm high, 0.4–0.7 cm in diam.; mycelial layer light yellow (4A4), light orange (5A4) to yellowish brown (5D5), hirsute; hairs up to 2.0 mm long, concolorous with the mycelial layer. Expanded basidiomata 0.5–1.1 cm high (including peristome), 0.6–1.5 cm in diam., occasionally with basal mycelial strands; exoperidium saccate, rays 4–7, recurving outside near the apex, mycelial layer light brown (5D4, 5D5), yellowish brown (5D6) to light yellow (4A4), fibrous layer pale yellow (4A3) to grayish yellow (4B4), fleshy layer light brown (5D4) to yellowish brown (5D 6, 5E 4); endoperidial body globose, sessile, 0.4–0.8 cm in diam., endoperidial surface smooth, papery, grayish brown (5D3), yellowish brown (5E4) to light brown (5D4); peristome fibrillose, brownish orange (5C3), pale orange (5A3) to orange white (5A2), distinctly delimited; mature gleba yellowish brown (5F4) to grayish brown (5F3).

Mycelial layer hyphae slightly thick-walled, 2–5 µm in diam., brownish yellow, septum not seen; fibrous layer hyphae thin to slightly thick-walled, 1.5–5.5 µm in diam., hyaline to yellowish, septum not seen, many incrusted with amorphous material; fleshy layer hyphae pseudoparenchymatous, ellipsoid to subglobose, 19– 45 µm in diam., brownish yellow; endoperidial hyphae slightly thick-walled, 2–4 µm in diam., hyaline to yellowish; capillitial hyphae slightly thick-walled, yellowish to brownish, septa not seen, 3–7 µm wide, incrusted or not with amorphous material, tapering towards the simple, rounded apex; basidiospores globose, 3–4 µm wide, brownish, finely punctate, ornamented with short, individual or confluent columns; apiculus short, usually conspicuous; basidia lecythiform to ventricose, 13–17 × 6–9 µm, hyaline, with oily content.

Distribution and habitat: — Brazil ( Lloyd 1907, 1918; Rick 1928, 1930; Baseia & Calonge 2006, as G. hirsutum ), Jamaica ( Coker & Couch 1928), British Guyana ( Dennis, 1953), Japan ( Lloyd 1925); found gregarious on decayed wood and forming a dense subiculum covering the substrate.

Additional specimens examined: — BRAZIL. Pernambuco: Recife , 21 June 2003, I.G. Baseia 3450 (MA-Fungi 67886, paratype of G. hirsutum ) ; Rio Grande do Sul: São Leopoldo, J. Rick (PACA 15970); Porto Alegre, Morro Santana , 21 June 2010, L. Trierveiler-Pereira 88 ( ICN), ibid., 17 May 2011, L. Trierveiler- Pereira 226 ( ICN), ibid., 31 May 2011, L. Trierveiler-Pereira 246 ( ICN) ; Caçapava do Sul: Pedra do Segredo , 06 June 2011, L. Trierveiler-Pereira 269 ( ICN) ; Santa Catarina: Itapoá, Reserva Volta Velha, 23 February 2011, M. Pilotto MAN 672 (FLOR 42673); Florianópolis, Morro da Lagoa , 21 April 2011, M.A. Neves et al. MAN 766 (FLOR 42674) .

Remarks:— Geastrum trichiferum is characterized small, saccate basidiomata, a hirsute mycelial layer and a delimited, fibrillose peristome.

This species was first reported by Lloyd (1907) as Geaster sp. However, Lloyd presented figures, a short description (a strigose form of Geastrum mirabile Mont. ) and mentioned the name adopted by Rick for the species: ‘ Geaster trichifer’. Rick himself was not convinced that G. trichiferum was a good species ( Lloyd 1918) and did not mention the species in his work on the genus Geastrum ( Rick 1910) . Geastrum trichiferum was later considered a variety of G. mirabile by Saccardo & Trotter (1912) but Lloyd continued using the binomial G. trichiferum ( Lloyd 1918, 1925), as did Rick in his later works ( Rick 1928, 1930). According to Lloyd (1918), G. trichiferum could also be separated from G. schweinitzii based on the colour of the mycelial layer, which is brownish in the first one and whitish in the latter.

Ponce de Leon (1968) considered G. trichiferum a synonym of Geastrum schweinitzii (Berk. & M.A. Curtis) Zeller , the latter being the correct name for G. mirabile ( Zeller 1948) . In Northeastern Brazil, it was observed that basidiomata of G. trichiferum are usually larger than those of G. schweinitzii ( Trierveiler-Pereira et al. 2011a)

Geastrum hirsutum , described from Northeastern Brazil ( Baseia & Calonge 2006), has the same characteristics of G. trichiferum and should be treated as a synonym. Geastrum albonigrum Calonge & M. Mata is a tropical species and also has a hairy mycelial layer that peels off at maturity ( Calonge & Mata 2004, Trierveiler-Pereira et al. 2011b). However, this species has a dark-colored mycelial layer, fleshy layer and endoperidium; the peristome is not delimited; and a robust, central rhizomorph remains attached at the fibrous layer after the mycelial layer peels off. Moreover, G. albonigrum do not form a whitish subiculum over the substrate (decayed wood).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Geastrum trichiferum (A-E) and G. schweinitzii (F). A. Basidiomata on decayed wood (BPI 706086, lectotype). B. Specimen in situ (L. Trierveiler-Pereira 269, ICN). C. Detail of the endoperidium (L. Trierveiler-Pereira 226, ICN). D. Specimen ex situ (MAN 731, FLOR). E, F. SEM images of basidiospores. E. PACA 15970. F. L. Trierveiler-Pereira PR-04, ICN. Photograph A by K. Moss, photograph D by M.A. Neves.

FIGURE 4. Microscopic structures of Geastrum trichiferum. A. Mycelial layer hyphae. B. Fibrous layer hyphae. C. Fleshy layer hyphae. D. Basidia. E. Capillitial hyphae.