Fungi of Australia

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Compared with many other nations and continents, the knowledge of the fungal flora of Australia is meagre. Unlike many countries with centuries of accumulated knowledge both cultural and later scientific, Australia has lacked input on both. Little is known of aboriginal use of fungi apart from a few species such as Blackfellow's bread (Laccocephalum mylittae), and research by botanists and mycologists since 1788 has been spasmodic and intermittent. Indeed some states currently lack mycologists in their respective herbaria.

Australia is estimated to have about 250,000 fungal species, including about 5000 mushrooms, of which roughly 5% have been described.[1] Knowledge of distribution, substrates and habitats is poor for most species, with the exception of common plant pathogens.[2]

Contents

[edit] Introduced fungi

With the notable exception of the gigantic Phlebopus marginatus, possibly Australia's largest mushroom, many of the most conspicuous fungi are those which have been introduced in association with exotic soil and trees; Lactarius deliciosus, Chalciporus piperatus, Suillus luteus and Suillus granulatus are European fungi which may be found in pine plantations in Eastern Australia. The deadly Amanita phalloides is found under Oak in urban Canberra and Melbourne and has caused deaths. There are concerns at least one of them, Amanita muscaria is spreading into (and forming new mycorrhizal associations with) native Nothofagus woodland and possibly displacing local species.[3] Lawns, farms and parklands see exotic fungi such as the shaggy ink cap (Coprinus comatus), the poisonous Chlorophyllum molybdites and several species of Agaricus, including the edible A. bisporus and A. campestris as well as mildly poisonous A. xanthodermus.

Mycorrhiza of Rhizopogon luteolus was deliberately introduced to improve the performance of pines in pine plantations in Western Australia in the early part of the 20th century.[4]

Another introduced fungus is Phytophthora cinnamomi, known as Dieback or Rootrot from the common names of the disease in Western Australian bush flora and garden plants respectively. Large swathes of bushland have been affected right across the country with many flora, principally members of the Proteaceae and Myrtaceae affected.

The stinkhorn-like species Aseroë rubra is significant in that it is the first fungus species known to have been introduced in the other direction, namely Europe, from Australia. It was recorded growing on soil transported from Australia in a glasshouse in Kew Gardens in 1829.[5]

[edit] Native fungi

An Amanita, taken at Barrington Topsmost likely A. punctata but possibly A. vaginata.
An Amanita, taken at Barrington Tops
most likely A. punctata but possibly A. vaginata.

On the whole, native fungi are very poorly known, with most taxa undescribed. For those that have been, there are huge gaps in knowledge, especially with respect to distribution and edibility. Reasons for this include the brief and unpredictable appearance of fruiting bodies, often the only evidence of most species, and the fact that there has been comparatively little scientific attention focussed upon fungi in Australia.[6]

There are several exceptions; one is the family Hygrophoraceae which has been the subject of a treatment by mycologist A. M. (Tony) Young in 2005.[7] Another is a treatment of the genus Mycena in Southeastern Australia.[8] The genus Amanita has been the subject of two reviews but a microscope is still needed to distinguish many species and coverage has concentrated in Australia's eastern regions.[9][10] Alec Wood has also published a study of the genus Galerina, describing 29 species, 21 of them new, primarily in New South Wales.[11] A more usual state of affairs is that reported by Roy Watling with regard to boletes, that it Australia appears to be rich in species yet only a minority are described.[12]

The CSIRO have published three volumes on the bibliography of all Australian fungal species described; Volume 2A, published in 1997, and Volume 2B, published in 2003.[13][14] Unlike the Flora of Australia series they are bibliographic lists and do not contain species descriptions.

[edit] History

Early collections in Western Australia were made by James Drummond and Ludwig Preiss in the early to mid-19th Century. They sent their specimens to W. J. Hooker at Kew and Elias Magnus Fries respectively.

John Burton Cleland conducted the first systematic review of Australian fungi in a landmark monograph of fungal specimens at the South Australian Herbarium. Comprising some 16000 specimens, this included fungi from elsewhere in the country as well as South Australia. He was assisted by such people as Edwin Cheel, keeper of the Herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Leonard Rodway of Tasmania and Phyllis Clarke (later North), who provided some watercolour paintings. These three were honoured with at least one specific epithet of new species described by Cleland.[4] This resulted in two comprehensive volumes (1934-35) on the larger fungi of South Australia, and was reprinted in 1976. These were reworked and published recently in 1997 by contemporary mycologist Cheryl Grgurinovic, though funding only allowed the publication of a volume on larger fungi.

Bruce Fuhrer and Tony Young, whose book was first published in 1982 and has been revised several times since, have been instrumental in promoting Australian fungi to the general public with popular books on fungi in Australia.[15][16] Published knowledge is augmented by locally produced guides in Western Australia,[17] Queensland and Tasmania.[18]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Pascoe, I. G. (1991). History of systematic mycology in Australia. History of Systematic Botany in Australasia. Ed by: P. Short. Australian Systematic Botany Society Inc. pp259-264.
  2. ^ May, T. W. 2001. Documenting the fungal biodiversity of Australasia: from 1800 to 2000 and beyond. Australian Systematic Botany 14:329-356
  3. ^ IMC8 Fungus of the Month - April 2005:The Fly Agaric menace
  4. ^ a b Cleland JB (1976). Toadstools and mushrooms and other larger fungi of South Australia. South Australian Government Printer, 326. ISBN. 
  5. ^ Entwisle T, Catterns A (29 July 2003). Starfish Fungus:Tim Entwisle talks to Angela Catterns on 702 ABC Sydney — 29 July 2003. Royal Botanic Gardens website. Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney. Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
  6. ^ Bougher NL, Syme K. (1998) Fungi of Southern Australia. University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands, WA. ISBN 1-875560-80-7
  7. ^ Young AM (2005). Fungi of Australia: Hygrophoraceae. CSIRO. ISBN 0-643-09195-5. 
  8. ^ Grgurinovic CA. (2002). The genus Mycena in south-eastern Australia. Fungal Diversity Press, Hong Kong, & Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra | id = ISBN 962-86765-2-0
  9. ^ Reid DA. (1980). A monograph of the Australian species of Amanita Pers. ex Hook. (Fungi). Australian Journal of Botany, Supplementary Series 8, 1–96
  10. ^ Wood AE. (1997) Studies in the genus Amanita (Agaricales) in Australia. Australian Systematic Botany 10: 723-854
  11. ^ Wood AE (2001) Studies in the genus Galerina. Australian Systematic Botany 14, 615–676
  12. ^ Watling R, Hui LT (1999). Australian Boletes: A Priliminary Survey. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. ISBN 1-872291-28-7. 
  13. ^ T.W.May & A.E.Wood (1997) Fungi of Australia Volume 2A: Catalogue and Bibliography of Australian Macrofungi 1. Basidiomycota. CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 0-643-05929-6
  14. ^ T.W. May, J. Milne, S. Shingles & R.H. Jones (2003) Fungi of Australia Volume 2B: Catalogue and Bibliography of Australian Fungi 2 Basidiomycota p.p. & Myxomycota p.p. CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 0-643-06907-0
  15. ^ Fuhrer B. (2005) A Field Guide to Australian Fungi. Bloomings Books. ISBN 1-876473-51-7
  16. ^ Young AM (2004). A Field Guide to the Fungi of Australia. University of New South Wales Press. ISBN 0868407429. 
  17. ^ Griffiths, K (1985). A Field Guide to the Larger Fungi of the Darling Scarp & South West of Western Australia. self, 80. isbn 0-9589705-0. 
  18. ^ Fuhrer B & Robinson R (1992). Rainforest Fungi of Tasmania and Southeast Australia. CSIRO Press. ISBN 978-0-643-05311-3.