Clavulinopsis laeticolor (Berkeley. & M.A. Curtis 1869: 338) R.H. Petersen (1965: 522)

Furtado, Ariadne N. M., Daniëls, Pablo P. & Neves, Maria Alice, 2016, New species and new records of Clavariaceae (Agaricales) from Brazil, Phytotaxa 253 (1), pp. 1-26 : 17-18

Clavulinopsis laeticolor (Berkeley. & M.A. Curtis 1869: 338) R.H. Petersen (1965: 522)

Basidiomata ( Fig. 1l ) 1.5−9.5 × 0.1−0.6 cm, unbranched, solitary, gregarious, fasciculate in small tufts. Clavula yellowish orange (4B7) to deep orange (6A8) or reddish orange (7B8), drying deep orange (6A8), cylindric and acute, often somewhat flattened, compressed, sometimes rugulose; apices concolorous with clavula but discoloring to brownish orange (6C7) in age, blunt; stipe 10−25 × 1.0−2.0 mm, distinct, finely subtomentose when dry, often with white mycelium at the base. Context pale, often hollow, floccose, not brittle; smell and taste absent.

Basidiospores ( Fig. 13a ) 5.5−8.0 × 3.5−6.0 μm (Q=1.56), ellipsoid to pip-shaped, hyaline (old basidiospores stain yellow), smooth, slightly thick-walled, uniguttulate, inamyloid; hilar appendage prominent 1.0−2.0 μm long, often sublateral. Basidia ( Fig. 13b ) 32−58 × 4−10 μm, clavate-elongate, clamped; (1−)4 sterigmata, 4.0−13 μm long (−17 μm on monosporic basidia). Cystidia absent. Hymenium 35−125 μm thick, absent in stipe. Subhymenium ca. 45 μm thick, with tortuous hyphae 1.5−4.0 μm wide, clamped, producing basidia in clusters or bouquets. Context ( Fig. 13c ) with parallel hyphae 3.0−13.0 μm wide, clamped, not constricted at the septa, with yellowish orange irregular intraparietal pigments on the medullary hyphae, slightly thick-walled, clamped. Surface of sterile base covered by projecting cylindrical hyphae to 3.0 μm wide, clamped.

Habitat and distribution:—In the Atlantic Forest this species is found on soil with litter and on road banks, in the shade. In Brazil it is known from Amazonas ( De Lamônica-Freire 1979), Rio Grande do Sul ( Rick 1959, present study) and Santa Catarina (present study). The species is also known from China, Germany, Great Britain, The Netherlands, Italy, USA ( Corner 1950, Petersen 1965), Estonia ( Shiryaev 2009), France ( Corner 1950, Gerault 2005), Spain ( Tabarés & Rocabruna 1991), Switzerland ( Breitenbach & Kränzlin 1986), India ( Corner 1970, Swapna et al. 2008), Australia ( Petersen 1979), Argentina, Austria, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Panama, New Zealand, Peru, Sweden ( Corner 1970), Malaysia ( Corner 1970, Petersen 1978, 1988), Denmark, Finland, Norway ( Hansen & Knudsen 1997) and Thailand (Maneevun & Sanoamuang 2010).

Specimens examined:— BRAZIL. Paraná: Piraquara, Morro do Canal , 25º50'91"S, 48º97'75"W, 26 January 2014, A.C. Magnago 911 (FLOR 56158). Rio Grande do Sul: São Francisco de Paula , Floresta Nacional de São Francisco de Paula (FLONA), 29º22’58”S, 50º22’32”W, 13 April 2014, A.C. Magnago 1052, 1054 (FLOR 56168, 56169). Santa Catarina: Florianópolis, Morro da Lagoa , Trilha do Jipe , 27º59’43”S, 49º47’83”W, 12 November 2013, A.N.M. Furtado 364 (FLOR 56170), ibid., 01 July 2013, R.C.S. Friedrich 33 (FLOR 56178), ibid., 16 January 2014, A.N.M. Furtado 385 (FLOR 56161) ; Florianópolis, Trilha para Lagoinha do Leste , 27º59’43”S, 49º47’83”W, 21 May 2014, A.N.M. Furtado 494, 495 (FLOR 56159, 56160); Florianópolis, Ilha do Campeche, 27º69’64”S, 48º46’51”W, 06 July 2013, E.R.Dreschler-Santos 1085 (FLOR 56171) ; Florianópolis, Trilha para Naufragados , 16 January 2014, A.N.M. Furtado 440 (FLOR 56166) ; Santo Amaro da Imperatriz, Hotel Plaza Caldas da Imperatriz, Trilha da Pousada , 27º70’39”S, 48º80’37”W, 26 July 2013, A.N.M. Furtado 315, 316 (FLOR 56156, 56157) ; Águas Mornas, Sítio Portal , 17 December 2013, C. Heisecke 201 (FLOR 56165) ; São Francisco do Sul, Parque Estadual do Acaraí , 26º31’22”S, 48º55’68”W, 05 August 2014, F.Mafalda-Freire 242 (FLOR 56172), ibid., 05 August 2014, J.A. Duque 71, 79 (FLOR 56173, 56174) .

Additional specimens examined:— BRAZIL. Rio Grande do Sul: J. Rick n.n. (Lloyd Catalogue n. 30205, 57698). Amazonas: Manaus, Estrada para Caracaraí km 45, 22 May 1978, R. Singer n.n. (INPA 79015), ibid., 21 June 1977, E.M.H. Freire n.n. (INPA 79021). INDIA. Dhanaulti, Mussoorie, Uttar Pradesh, 31 August 1968, S.S. Rattan n.n. (BPI 294884). SLOVAKIA. Lysá, 2005, V. Kautman n.n. (K 158310). USA. New York: Northville & Chittenango Falls, n.d., E.J.H. Corner n.n. (BPI 284886, holotype).

Remarks:— Clavulinopsis laeticolor is conspicuous in the field due to its bright orange color that contrasts with the soil and leaf litter. The species is easily characterized by its gregarious to fasciculate basidiomata, which become finely subtomentose when dried and have distinct stipes ( Petersen 1965). Although some characteristics can be very variable, such as the color of the basidiomata and the size of the basidia, the context and basidiospores are constant in the species ( Petersen 1979). Clavulinopsis laeticolor is similar to Cs. fusiformis , a widely distributed taxon ( Corner 1970). Clavulinopsis fusiformis differs by its densely fasciculate to caespitose habit, indistinct stipe and globose to subglobose basidiospores ( Corner 1950). As previously discussed, Cs. helvola shares some macromorphological characteristics with Cs. laeticolor , but Cs. helvola has subglobose to broadly ellipsoid basidiospores that are sharply angular to echinulatewarted and 5.5−7.2 × 4.5−5.7 μm ( Petersen 1968). The presence of incrustations on the inner walls of the hyphae is here described for the first time for this species for the majority of the specimens found in southern Brazil (e.g., FLOR 56158, 56168, 56169, 56170, 56161, 56159, 56160, 56171, 56156, 56157, 56165, 56172, 56173). We do not consider the presence of this character sufficient to distinguish these collections as a distinct species. The incrustations could be due to environmental or chemical changes that induce their formation and were not observed in any of the other herbarium specimens studied. These structures can only be seen in 3% KOH plus Congo Red.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Photographs of basidiomata in the field. a Clavaria diverticulata (ACM 1044); b. Ca. fragilis (ACM 1041); c. Ca. fumosa (ACM 598); d. Ca. gibbsiae (ANMF 484); e. Ca. subglobosa (MAN 732); f. Ca. zollingeri (ANMF 365); g. Clavulinopsis amoena (KEL 21); h. Cs. aurantiocinnabarina (ANMF 382); i. Cs. dimorphica (ACM 1051); j. Cs. helvola (KEL 34); k. Cs. imperata (ANMF 482); l. Cs. laeticolor (ANMF 495); m. Cs. spiralis (MAN 1077); n. Ramariopsis kunzei (ACM 596). Bars = 1.0 cm. Photographs by Altielys C. Magnago (A, B, C, I, N) and Raquel Friedrich (G).

FIGURE 13 Microcharacters of Clavulinopsis laeticolor (ANMF 495). a. Basidiospores; b. Hyphae with intraparietal pigments; c. Basidia. Bars = 10 μm.