Introduction
Watling & Seaward (Reference Watling and Seaward2004) listed the fungal material which had accumulated from several expeditions to the Seychelles and neighbouring islands. A few more specimens have come to hand and are the subject of this communication. Macromycetes are mostly featured in this study. Several microfungi were also collected from a range of genera and orders but, unfortunately, most were immature. Undoubtedly the drying winds have an adverse effect on ascocarp fruiting as observations on temperate taxa suggest many foliicolous fungi require at least a sustained period of humid weather to encourage maturation (cf. Watling, unpubl. data on Capnobotrys dingleae Hughes; Watling & Eggeling, ined., data on antennarioid material from the Falklands Archipelago). The collections on Cocos nucifera L. leaves could only be identified, at most, to generic level. The parasitic foliicolous fungi on Cocos nucifera have been covered by Holliday (Reference Holliday1980), but do not include the present taxa. Some of the angiosperm leaves showed mixtures of meliolaceous (obligate parasites with characteristic superficial lobed haustoria) and capnodiaceous fungi (sooty moulds). Unfortunately few features are present to identify them.
In addition to the above, several microfungi were included in the Chagos Archipelago report (Seaward, Reference Seaward, Sheppard and Seaward1999) and numerous foliicolous lichens have been studied for the compilation of checklists (summarised in Seaward & Aptroot, Reference Seaward and Aptroot2009) of the Indian Ocean islands included in this and the previous study (Watling & Seaward, Reference Watling and Seaward2004).
Materials and Methods
Materials and methods follow Watling & Seaward (Reference Watling and Seaward2004) and collections have been deposited in the herbarium of M. R. D. Seaward (MRDS), currently at the University of Bradford, with some duplicates in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (E) and The Natural History Museum (BM).
Records of Fungi
Although only a few characters useful for identification were present on the foliicolous fungi, we confirm (a) a Capnophialophora S.Hughes species on Cinnamomum verum J.Presl from Silhouette Island (21 vii 2000, M.R.D. Seaward), which could be the imperfect state of a Euantennaria Speg. or Antennatula Fr. ex F.Strauss, and (b) a Hormiscium Kunze stage of a Hormisciomyces Bat. & Nascim. species on Cocos nucifera also from Silhouette (25 vii 2000, M.R.D. Seaward). Some may represent sterile and immature colonisation of the widespread Euantennaria tropicola Speg., noted from the Seychelles on Cinnamomum Schaeff. species by Watling & Seaward (Reference Watling and Seaward2004). It is common to find more than one capnodiaceous fungus growing intermingled (Hughes, Reference Hughes1966). A single collection found on Grande Anse, Praslin (6 vi 1974, A.H. Norkett) could be Macrophoma collabens Berg. & Vogl. A definitive identification was not possible because the genus is in need of critical revision. A specimen of a Tripospermum Speg. species, close to T. acerinum P.Syd., was collected by A. H. Norkett from the Botanic Garden of Mahé.
Only a single slime-mould (Myxogastria) was collected, namely Lycogala epidendrum (L.) Fr., from Menai, Cosmoledo Atoll (17 xiii 2005, J. Gerlach). This is a common slime-mould with a worldwide distribution.
Other new records are presented below.
Basidiomycota
Agaricales
Agaricaceae
Tulostoma bonianum Pat.
[Substratum unknown], Grande Terre, Aldabra, 15 xii 2005, J. Gerlach (MRDS 115771).
This collection was mixed with Pycnoporus sanguineus mentioned below. With such a different morphology it was surprising to find a stalked puffball in association with a bracket fungus. Tulostoma bonianum has a wide distribution in the palaeotropics and also in the Caribbean and Hawaii. It also occurs in several provinces of China and is recorded from India and South Africa. It grows in woodland, often in small groups.
Entolomataceae
Leptonia gnopholodes (Berk. & Br.) Sacc.
On soil, Jardin Marron, Silhouette, 23 ix 2004, J. Gerlach (MRDS 115762).
This species was described from Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, based on collections made by Petch (Reference Petch1924), and is also known from Tanzania. It is characterised by the heterodiametric-ovate, angular basidiospores and brown, infundibuliform pileus. It is not surprising that this species has been found in the Seychelles but its overall distribution is poorly known. There are good descriptions and diagrams in both Pegler (Reference Pegler1977) and Pegler (Reference Pegler1986). All species of Leptonia (Fr.) P.Kumm. are placed in Entoloma (Fr.) P.Kumm. by some authors.
Favolaschiaceae
Mycena ? chlorophos (Berk. & Curt.) Sacc.
On leaf litter, Jardin Marron, Silhouette, 19 xii 2004, J. Gerlach (MRDS 115760).
This collection, which is in rather poor condition, was mixed with Marasmius haematocephalus noted below. Mycena chlorophos is widely distributed on old wood on the forest floor. It ranges in distribution from Southeast Asia to Australasia. It is placed in Mycena sect. Basipedes (Fr.) Kühner because the stipe emerges from a small basal pad. When fresh, it gives off a phosphorescent glow in the dark.
Marasmiaceae
Marasmius haematocephalus (Mont.) Fr.
On leaf litter, Jardin Marron, Silhouette, 19 xii 2004, J. Gerlach (MRDS 115761).
This is a very common pantropical species growing on fallen leaf litter. It is instantly recognisable by the deep purplish-red pileus, which in the field may fade to maroon. This species is recorded from Sri Lanka where Pegler (Reference Pegler1986) gives a good, illustrated description. Marasmius haematocephalus is placed in Marasmius sect. Sicci Singer which is characterised by setulose elements in the pileus. A good colour illustration also appears in Singer (Reference Singer1965). Marasmius Fr. is a very large genus in both the palaeotropics and neotropics.
Strophariaceae
Gymnopilus hybridus (Sowerby) Maire
On rotten wood, Jardin Marron, Silhouette, 19 xii 2004, J. Gerlach (MRDS 115767).
This collection is Gymnopilus hybridus, a fungus generally taken as a synonym of the north temperate G. penetrans (Fr.) Murrill. Gymnopilus hybridus differs in its distinctive, white velar ring zone on the stipe, and unspotted gills, characters not seen in G. penetrans although the basidiospores are very similar. It has a smooth, as opposed to scaly, pileus so separating it from the closely related Gymnopilus sapineus (Fr.) Maire. Gymnopilus hybridus grows on coniferous wood and might have been introduced. There are several palaeotropical species of Gymnopilus P.Karst. but none agree with this collection.
Auriculariales
Auriculariaceae
Auricularia cornea (Ehrenb.: Fr.) Ehrenb. ex Engel
On old track, Grande Anse, Praslin, 9 i 1994, A.H. Norkett (MRDS 115775; BM 18483A).
This is probably better known by the widespread but later synonym Auricularia polytricha (Mont.) Sacc. and is a common, widespread palaeotropical jelly fungus (Judas’ ear) being found throughout China, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia, southwards to Australia. It is also found in the Philippines and in Chagos and the Seychelles (Watling & Seaward, Reference Watling and Seaward2004). It is cultivated extensively throughout Southeast Asia for food and is characterised by its rather thick and tough texture and hairy upper surface.
Phallales
Geastraceae
Geastrum dubowskii Pat.
On ground, Jardin Marron, Silhouette, 23 ix 2004, J. Gerlach (MRDS 115763).
This is an African earthstar, the epithet of which is often misspelt ‘dybowskii’. It has been synonymised with Geastrum javanicum by Ponce de Leon (1968), described from Southeast Asia, which would give it a palaeotropical distribution. It grows on the forest floor. A good colour illustration of Congo material appears in Dissing & Lange (Reference Dissing and Lange1964).
Polyporales
Coriolaceae
Coriolopsis aspera (Jung) Teng
[Substratum unknown], Astove, Farquhar, 17 xii 2005, J. Gerlach (MRDS 115768); [Substratum unknown], St Pierre, Farquhar, 19 xii 2005, J. Gerlach (MRDS 115765); [Substratum unknown], Menai, Cosmoledo Atoll, 17 xii 2005, J. Gerlach (MRDS 115766).
This bracket fungus is widely distributed in the palaeotropics. Its distribution ranges from China and Taiwan to Australia. It can be easily identified when in good condition by the erect, forked hairs in the pileal mat. Corner (Reference Corner1989) does not discuss this species from Malaysia but does describe Trametes badia Berk. which Ryvarden (Reference Ryvarden1977) synonymised under Coriolopsis aspera, erroneously according to Corner (Reference Corner1989). Trametes badia certainly has a dark pileus but lacks the distinctive hairs and scrupose surface. It has a similar distribution to Coriolopsis aspera, but Teng (Reference Teng1996) treats them as separate entities. Both grow on dead trunks and branches of hardwoods in secondary forest and primary rainforest.
Pycnoporus sanguineus (L.: Fr.) Murrill
[Substratum unknown], Grande Terre, Aldabra, 15 xii 2005, J. Gerlach (MRDS 115770); On Cocos nucifera, Desroches, Amirantes, 21 xi 2005, J. Gerlach (MRDS 115625).
This is a common and widespread palaeotropical bracket fungus. Its distribution ranges from China, Taiwan and Japan through Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia. It also occurs in North America. This species differs only from Trametes Fr. species in its bright orange-red basidiome. Pycnoporus cinnabarinus (Jacq.) P.Karst. also occurs in Southeast Asia, but is distinguished by its thicker basidiome. It is genetically distinct and probably has a more northerly distribution (Lesage-Meessen et al., Reference Lesage-Meessen, Haon, Uzan, Levasseur, Piumi and Navarro2011). Pycnoporus sanguineus is found in forest clearings, margins of woodland and beside woodland tracks and trails growing on fallen branches and limbs, generally of hardwood hosts. These records extend our knowledge of its distributional range within the Indian Ocean (cf. records from the Seychelles and Chagos in Watling & Seaward, Reference Watling and Seaward2004). This bracket fungus is replaced by Pycnoporus coccineus (Fr.) Bond. & Singer in Australia.
Trametes pubescens (Fr.) Pilát sensu lato
[Substratum unknown], Astove, Farquhar, 17 xi 2005, J. Gerlach (MRDS 115769).
This bracket fungus is circumpolar and common in boreal temperate areas. According to Corner’s (Reference Corner1989) interpretation adopted here, it also extends to Malaysian tropical woodland. He suggested that the tropical Southeast Asian collections of Trametes hirsutus (Schum.: Fr.) Pilát and T. occidentale (Klotzsch) G.H.Cunn. are also this taxon, although Núñez & Ryvarden (Reference Núñez and Ryvarden2001) separate the former on the basis of the grey colour of the pileal surface. The latter is a truly neotropical species. Trametes pubescens occurs on fallen branches and limbs especially in open gaps in the forest or at the forest margin.
Ascomycota
Dothideomycetes
Botryosphaeriales
Botryosphaeriaceae
Botryosphaeria sp. Immature.
On Cocos nucifera, E of Belle Vue, Silhouette, 25 vii 2000, M.R.D. Seaward (MRDS 112856).
Botryosphaeria sp. Immature.
St Anne’s Isle, 28 viii 1973, A.H. Norkett s.n. (BM).
Sadly both these collections are immature and it is only on the external appearance that the genus Botryosphaeria Ces. & De Not. is suggested. Both possess the black, relatively large pseudothecia characteristic of the genus. These pseudothecia are immersed in the leaf mesophyll of the dead leaves. Several members of this genus are important plant pathogens and there is a very wide range of imperfect stages associated with the genus which have been placed in several morpho-anamorphic genera. Recent molecular work defines a rather narrow species concept (Crous et al., Reference Crous, Wingfield, Slippers and Rong2006; Schoch et al., Reference Schoch, Shoemaker, Seifert, Habelton, Spatafora and Crous2006). Such a concept is narrower than that based purely on morphological identification of field material. Holliday (Reference Holliday1980) does not indicate any pathogenic members of this genus on Cocos. A specimen of Botryosphaeria cocoicola (Sivan.) K.D.Hyde & P.F.Cannon [MRDS 112856] recorded by Watling & Seaward (Reference Watling and Seaward2004) from a Silhouette Island collection, although immature, may be the same taxon.
Sordariomycetes
Capnodiales
Capnodiaceae
Tripospermum sp.
[Substratum unknown], Botanic Garden, Mahé, 10 ix 1973, A.H. Norkett s.n. (BM).
Members of this genus are the anamorphic stages of members of the Capnodiales. The present collection comes close to Tripospermum myrti (Lind) Hughes and T. acerinum (P.Syd.) Speg., the latter being the type of the genus. Both of these species possess mid-brown to olivaceous, multiseptate, 3- to 5-armed conidia and are widespread in Europe. As the branching is very variable and the feature is found in other sooty moulds it is impossible to be definitive. Although the Capnodiales are a particular feature of the New Zealand mycota, they are an important order in both the palaeotropics and neotropics. Tripospermum myrti has been found as an aeroaquatic fungus. Other species in the genus are found in foam on the surface of water (Ingold, Reference Ingold1975). Probably these have washed off from vegetation, as Tripospermum myrti is known to do. It occurs on grasses, myrtaceous plants and Fraxinus L.
Xylariales
Xylariaceae
Nemania aff. serpens (Pers.: Fr.) Gray
As Diatrypella sp., on dead wood, Île Polymnie, Grande Terre, Aldabra, 5 ii 1974, R.J. Hnatiuk (MRDS 115774; BM 731866).
The irregular, confluent, cushion-shaped ascoma covered in small papillae from the emergent perithecia is characteristic of the genus Nemania Gray. Nemania serpens is probably better known as its synonym Hypoxylon serpens (Pers.) J.Kickx f. and, with other closely related, pulvinate fruiting xylariaceous fungi, is a very important wood-rotter in both the palaeotropics and neotropics. All species are characterised by dark-brown ascospores sometimes with a prominent germ-slit, in contrast to Diatrypella which is characterised by its small, allantoid, hyaline ascospores produced in multi-spored asci. The similar cushion-shaped ascoma of the Diatrypaceae has probably led to its misidentification in the field.
Acknowledgements
We are most grateful to Justin Gerlach (Scientific Coordinator, Nature Protection Trust of Seychelles) for providing us with interesting collections from the Seychelles, and to Scott LaGreca (formerly Lichen Curator, The Natural History Museum, London) for making Aldabra and Seychelles specimens available for study.
