Lamproderma aeneum Mar. Mey. & Poulain, Soc. Hist. Nat. Pays Montbél.

Moreno, Gabriel, Villalba, Angela López, Castillo, Aurelio & Stephenson, Steven L., 2018, Some nivicolous species of Lamproderma and Meriderma from the Himalayan Mountains of northwestern India, Phytotaxa 373 (3), pp. 221-230 : 222-223

Lamproderma aeneum Mar. Mey. & Poulain, Soc. Hist. Nat. Pays Montbél. : 49 (2002) Fig. 1

Sporocarps 0.5–1.2 mm in diam, slightly stipitate, rarely sessile. Sporotheca globose. Stalk blackish brown, less than one third of the total height of the sporocarp. Peridium yellow-gold, more rarely bluish, iridescent, without maculae.

Columella blackish brown, along which the capillitium arises, at the apex several main branches emerge more or less dichotomously. Capillitium dense, reddish brown, with pointed ends paler. Spores (9)9.3–11 × 9–10.9(11) μm in diam,

av. 10.5 × 10 μm, Q av = 1–1.03–1.05, (n = 25), globose to subglobose, warted, blackish brown in mass and violet in transmitted light. Under SEM the spore ornamentation is formed by thick bacula which are densely distributed and join to form short ridges.

Habitat:— Nivicolous, on decaying herbaceous plants near the edge of melting snowbanks.

Specimens examined:— INDIA. Himachal Pradesh Province: north of the city of Manali, 32°20’23.9 N, 77°13’08.2 E, 3240 m, 20 May 2006, leg. Stephenson 21203. Ibidem, 21 May 2006, leg. Stephenson 21221 in AH 46523. Ibidem, 21 May 2006, leg. Stephenson 21229 in AH 46516.

Notes: —This species is well characterized both macroscopically and microscopically by the golden coloration of the peridium and by its warted, relatively small (9–11 μm in diam) spores.

Lamproderma pseudomaculatum Mar. Mey. & Poulain , in Bozonnet, Meyer & Poulain, Docums. Mycol. 24(96): 7 (1995) Fig. 2

Sporocarps 1.5–2 mm in height. Sporotheca globose to ovoid, 1–1.2 mm in diam. Stalk up to half the height of the sporotheca, black. Peridium membranous iridiscent, with slight yellowish tones, reddish brown in LM, abundant macules present, elongated and sometimes difficult to visualize, with acicular dispersed crystals. Columella attaining one half the height of the sporotheca, dark brown. Capillitium dark brown, paler at the periphery. Spores 11–12 × (10)10.3–12 μm in diam, av. 11.8 × 11.3 μm, Q av = 1–1.04–1.1, (n = 25), globose to subglobose, blackish brown in mass, brown-violet in transmitted light, with a paler area, warted. Under SEM the spore ornamentation is formed by baculae with an irregular distribution.

Habitat: —Nivicolous, on decaying herbaceous plants near the edge of melting snowbanks.

Specimens examined: — INDIA. Himachal Pradesh Province: north of the city of Manali, 32°20’23.9 N, 77°13’08.2 E, 3240 m, 22 May 2006, leg. Stephenson 21277 in AH 46517.

Notes: —The distinctive features of Lamproderma pseudomaculatum are its stipitate sporotheca, a peridium bearing spots visible only under the microscope and warted spores 10–12 μm in diam. Lamproderma echinosporum Meyl. differs by having a peridium with very marked macules and spinulose spores as observed under LM. Lamproderma maculatum Kowalski is characterized by a peridium with very marked macules and warted spores 12–15 μm in diam ( Moreno et al. 2002).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Lamproderma aeneum Mar. Mey. & Poulain (AH 46516). a. Sporocarps, b. Sporocarp by LM (AH 46523), c. Details of the columella and capillitium (AH 46523), d–e. Spores, f. Detail of spore ornamentation. Bars: a = 1 mm, b = 200 μm, c = 100 μm, d–e = 2 μm, f = 1 μm.

FIGURE 2. Lamproderma pseudomaculatum Mar. Mey. & Poulain (AH 46517). a. Sporocarps, b. Sporocarp and peridium by LM, c. Details of the columella and capillitium, d–e. Spores, f. Detail of spore ornamentation. Bars: a = 1 mm, b = 200 μm, c = 100 μm, d–e = 2 μm, f = 1 μm.