New data on some rare species of Hyphomycetes from Lithuania

The paper presents new data on ecological peculiarities of five anamorphic fungi species, Cladorrhinum foecundissimum, Dwayaangam cornuta, Lateriramulosa uni-inflata, Pyramidospora herculiformis and Tetraploa setifera , their distribution and substrate preferences are discussed. Short description, illustration and map of localities in Lithuania of recorded species are presented.


IntroDUCtIon
Anamorphic fungi inhabiting forest litter are characterized by wide adaptation abilities in different environments, but their species composition and ecology are still insufficiently known.The best-known and most studied are terrestrial, aquatic and aero-aquatic groups of Hyphomycetes (E l l i s 1971, 1976; M a t s u s h i m a 1975; I n g o l d 1975; B ä r l o c h e r 1992 et al.).
During the studies of Hyphomycetes associated with forest litter in various terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems in mixed deciduous forests of central and southeast Lithuania in 1999-2004, five rare and interesting for their ecological adaptation patterns species were obtained both in terrestrial and aquatic habitats.Recorded species were mainly polytrophic and developed as saprobes on dead woody plant substrates.Till present time three reported here fungi species, Cladorrhinum foecundissimum, Lateriramulosa uni-inflata and Tetraploa setifera were known exceptionally as terrestrial or soil-inhabiting (M a t s u s h i m a 1971; M o u c h a c c a , G a m s 1993; R é v a y 1993), other two, Dwayaangam cornuta and Pyramidospora herculiformis as aquatic (D e s c a l s , We b s t e r 1982; S i n g h 1976).Our observation indicated that they can grow, sporulate and actively decompose plant debris of forest litter both in moist terrestrial and submerged conditions.Whereas these species are characterized by amphibious nature of development, it is best to place them into the specific and still poorly studied ecological group of "amphibious" fungi (M i c h a e l i d e s , K e n d r i c k 1978; B ä r l o c h e r 1992; D i x , We b s t e r 1995) and regard them as such.
Part of the reported here species are known only from few collections worldwide and our data supplement knowledge on their substratum specificity, habitats and geography.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The specimens were collected directly from the terrestrial forest litter or were obtained by cultivating terrestrial litter in moist chamber in the laboratory.Submerged leaves were collected from aquatic habitats (forest streams, lakes, rivers) and later incubated in Petri dishes under the thin layer of distilled water.The fungi were studied using standard microscopic techniques and identified basing on their morphological properties and character of conidiogenesis.Descriptions and illustration were made from fresh preparations in distilled water.Specimens of dried material and permanent glass slides with lacto-phenol are deposited in the fungal collection at the Herbarium of the Institute of Botany (BILAS), Vilnius.
note: In europe Cladorrhinum foecundissimum previously has been isolated mainly from soil (A r x , G a m s 1966; H o l u b o v á -J e c h o v á 1979; B o r o w s k a 1986; M o u c h a c c a , G a m s 1993).From submerged conditions it was noted for the first time by H y d e and G o h (1999) on unidentified wood in the U.K. In Lithuania it was collected both from terrestrial and submerged habitats.Accordingly this species could be placed into the group of "amphibious" fungi.This species is widely distributed in Northern Hemisphere, though uncommon.
note: This species was described by M a t s u s h i m a (1971) on decaying leaves as terrestrial fungus from Papua-New Guinea and later was also collected in Japan (M a t s u s h i m a 1975).It is also known from North America (C r a n e 1968).In Europe it is rarely collected as waterborne from washed litter and foam (M a r v a n o v á 1973; I n g o l d 1975; G ö n g z ö l , R é v a y 1983).In Lithuanian specimens L. uniinflata sporulated abundantly after incubating submerged leaves for several days in Petri dishes under a thin layer of distilled water.Probably the fungus is not genuinely waterborne, but amphibious and is likely to be cosmopolitan in its distribution.Descals, Trans. Br. Mycol. Soc. 1982, 78 (3): 408 -411.(Fig. 1 C).
note: Descals described this species as aquatic after incubating a piece of wood (observed specimen was collected in streamlet in U.K.) under the thin layer of water (D e s c a l s , We b s t e r 1982), but earlier in U. K. conidia of this fungus were frequently observed in foam as unidentified (I n g o l d 1942,1959, 1975).In Lithuania this species was collected twice from moist forest litter on decaying wood and once from foam, thus it could be characterised as amphibious.Probably it is widely distributed in the temperate zone of Northern Hemisphere.N. Singh, Trans. Br. Mycol. Soc. 1976, 66 (2): 347 -350.(Fig. 1 D).
note: This species was described by S i n g h ( 1976) as an aquatic hyphomycete collected on submerged rotting leaves of unidentified dicotyledonous plants from Africa (Sierra Leone).In Lithuania this fungus was collected on both submerged leaves of Corylus avellana and leaves of the same plant from moist forest litter, thus this species should be ascribed to amphibious fungi.Here it is for the fist time recorded for Europe.
note: Present collection of Tetraploa setifera is the first record of this species from Lithuania and the second record in the world.Originally for the first time this species was described from Hungary on rotten unidentified wood collected near the stream from moist habitat (R é v a y 1993).Lithuanian specimen morphologically (by shape and size of conidia) is practically identical to the published description of type material.Among six species of genus Tetraploa, only Tetraploa setifera always produce smooth-walled conidia with closely adpressed columns in the apical part.Morphologically T. setifera is very close to commonly found on grasses T. aristata Berk.& Br., which in Hungary was also collected on submerged wood of Fagus sylvatica (R é v a y 1993).Probably future ecological observation might confirm that T. aristata and T. setifera both belong to group of amphibious fungi.Until present T. aristata is known only from Europe.
the fact of record of such rare species as Cladorrhinum foecundissimum, Dwayaangam cornuta, Lateriramulosa uni-inflata, Pyramidospora herculiformis and Tetraploa setifera in different terrestrial and submerged habitats in Lithuania, suggests that distribution and ecology of these fungi is far wider than was reputed.The distribution of above-mentioned species in Lithuania is illustrated in Figure 2.