Mallocybe africana Aïgnon, Yorou & Ryberg, 2021

Aignon, Hyppolite L., Naseer, Arooj, Matheny, Brandon P., Yorou, Nourou S. & Ryberg, Martin, 2021, Mallocybe africana (Inocybaceae, Fungi), the first species of Mallocybe described from Africa, Phytotaxa 478 (1), pp. 49-60 : 53-55

Mallocybe africana Aïgnon, Yorou & Ryberg sp. nov. Figures 3 & 4

MycoBank No:—835658

Diagnosis:— Mallocybe africana is most closely related to M. errata from southeast Asia but differs from it by the smaller size of the basidiomata, larger basidiospores, and ecological association with Fabaceae Lindley (1836: 148) and/or Phyllanthaceae Martynov (1820: 369) . Mallocybe errata is associated with Pinaceae Spreng. ex F. Rudolphi, (1830: 35) and Dipterocarpaceae Blume (1825: 222) .

Holotype:— BENIN. Borgou, North region: Village Gando, 09°45’43.8”N, 002°19’56.2”E, 08 July 2013, on soil in woodland dominated by Isoberlinia doka and I. tomentosa , M. Ryberg (MR00358), deposited in Parakou University, GenBank accession: ITS ( MT476160 ), LSU ( MT509360 ) and RPB2 ( MT628398 ).

Etymology:— africana , refers to the distribution in Africa.

Description:— Pileus 7–20 mm diam, hemispherical when young, expanding to convex or applanate when mature, margin inflexed, surface dry, fibrillose to tomentose, at times scaly, disc occasionally with a grayish velipellis, otherwise orange-brown (5B4) to brown, sometimes yellowish (5B2) towards the margin when young, flesh yellowish white (4A2), pale brown (4C4) to grayish white, 1–2 mm thick. Lamellae adnate, close, with 30–40 L and several tiers of lamellulae, dark yellowish brown to dark brown (6B5), 2–4 mm deep, edges paler and fimbriate. Stipe 11–25 × 2–4 mm, tapered towards the base, dry, woolly or felty from veil remnants, becoming coarsely fibrillose or developing appressed fibrillose scales, almost cinnamon to orange-brown (5B4), buff to brown, paler yellow at top, flesh pale yellow to white, becoming hollow.

Basidiospores (8–)8.9–13.5(–14) × (4–)4.5–7.3(–8) μm, avl × avw = 11.2 × 5.6 μm Q: (1.4–)1.6–2.6(–3), avQ = 2.0, ellipsoid, smooth, thick-walled, yellowish brown.

Basidia 20–47 × 5–14 μm, usually with 4 sterigmata, cylindric to slenderly clavate, hyaline becoming ochraceous (necropigmented). Cheilocystidia (25–42 × 10–25 μm, clavate, some almost pyriform or cylindrical and attenuated, thin-walled, clamped. Pleurocystidia absent. Pileipellis a cutis of dense layers of branched hyphae, with fusiform terminals, granular internal pigment brown, 5–12 μm wide, hyphae internally incrusted, clamped. Stipitipellis a cutis made up of filamentous, branched, septate clamped hyphae 5–15 μm wide, thin- or thick-walled, hyaline. Caulocystidia 32–45 × 10–12 μm, cylindric to bacilliform, walls hyaline, scattered at stipe apex, infrequent, clamped.

Habit:—Solitary, scattered or in small clusters on soil.

Habitat:—Woodland dominated by Isoberlinia doka , I. tomentosa , Uapaca guineensis Müller Argoviensis. (1864: 517) , U. togoensis or Berlinia grandiflora . Occurring from June to September.

Geographical distribution: West Africa– Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, and in south-eastern Africa– Zambia.

Additional specimens examined: BENIN. Collines, central region: Forest reserve of Toui-Kilibo, 8°33’38.15”N, 002°36’5.44”E, 12August 2017, on soil in woodland dominated by Isoberlinia doka, L.H.Aïgnon (HLA0378), GenBank accession: ITS ( MT458692 ). Borgou, North region: Forest reserve of N’dali, 09°44’55.73”N, 002°41’40.51”E, 30 August 2017, on soil in woodland dominated by Isoberlinia doka and I. tomentosa, L.H. Aïgnon (HLA0462), GenBank accession No.: ITS ( MT458691 ) and nLSU ( MT456364 ). Donga region, Igbere village: Wari- Marou forest reserve, 8°59’36.1” N, 1°58’10.4” E, 30August 2018, on soil in woodland dominated by Isoberlinia doka and Uapaca togoensis, L.H. Aïgnon (HLA0623). BURKINA FASO. Bobo-Dioulasso: Forest reserve of Dan, 10°53’39.7” N, 004°50’17.6” W, 12 July 2013, on soil in woodlands and gallery forests dominated by Berlinia grandiflora and Uapaca guineensis , M. Ryberg (MR00369), GenBank accession: ITS ( MT458691 ) and nLSU ( MT509361 ). IVORY COAST. Bouake, Gbêkê region: District of Bandama Valley, 7°40’31.4” N, 004°54’29.2” W, 11 July 2018, on soil in woodland dominated by Berlinia grandfifolia, L.H. Aïgnon (HLA0561), GenBank accession: ITS ( MT476161 ). TOGO. Central region, prefecture of Assoli: reserve forest of Aledjo, 09°20’25.1” N, 001°14’66.6” E, 17 July 2013, on soil in Woodland dominated by Isoberlinia tomentosa , M. Ryberg (MR00385), GenBank accession: ITS ( MN096194 ), LSU ( MN097886 ) and RPB2 ( MT465593 ). ZAMBIA. 6 kilometers before the Gibbon’s farm, 17 November 1996 on soil in miombo woodland ( Phyllanthaceae , Fabaceae ), 08 February 1996, G. Eyssartier (EG96012ter!). ( Phyllanthaceae , Fabaceae ), G. Eyssartier (EG96012!). Luanshya-lbenga road, on soil in miombo woodland, 03 February 1996, G. Eyssartier (EG96012bis!). Lusaka, on soil in miombo woodland dominated by species of Phyllanthaceae and Fabaceae .

Figures

FIGURE 3. A–D= Basidiomes of Mallocybe africana, A= MR00358, B= HLA0462 C=HLA0399 and D= HLA0561. Bar = 1 cm. Photos by: H.L. Aïgnon.

FIGURE 4A–F. Micromorphology of Mallocybe africana, A. Basidiospores B. Basidia C. Cheilocystidia D. Caulocystidia E. Pileipellis F. Stipitipellis. Scale bars: A=3 μm, B=5 μm, C, D, E, F = 10 μm. Drawings by: H.L. Aïgnon.