Polish resupinate Russulales: the genus Vararia

Polish The paper discusses three corticioid species of the genus Vararia P. Karst. Two species, Vararia gallica (Bourdot & Galzin) Boidin and Vararia ochroleuca (Bourdot & Galzin) Donk, are reported from Poland for the first time. The cosmopolitan species Vararia investiens P. Karst., previously known only from one Polish record, was rediscovered after over 100 years since the previous Polish collection. Macro- and micromorphological characters of the Polish collections are described and illustrated. The knowledge of their distribution and ecology is briefly summarized. a key to European members of the genus is given.

In Poland, only Vararia investiens was previously reported from three localities situated closely together in the vicinity of Międzyrzec Podlaski (NE Poland) (Eichler 1900, 1904 Bres.). Vararia species were not reported from Poland over the next one hundred years.
The aim of this paper is to review the current state of knowledge on the genus Vararia in Poland.

MaTEriaL aND METHoDs
The study is based on specimens collected by the author during field studies in the Białowieża Forest (równina Bielska plain), the Kaszubski Landscape Park (Pojezie� Pojezierze Kaszubskie lakeland) and the Puszcza Niepołomicka forest (Nizina Nadwiślańska lowland), carried out during the vegetation seasons of 2008 and 2009.
The colour and configuration of the hymenial surface and marginal zone were noted using fresh specimens. Macromorphological characters were additionally observed in dried materials, while micromorphological characters only in dried specimens. Freehand sections of each specimen were made under a nikon SMZ-2T microscope with a normal razor blade and observed under a Nikon Eclipse E�400 light microscope with × 1250 magnification and using an oil immersion objective. Microstructural elements were examined and measured in Melzer's reagent, 5% KoH and cotton blue in lactic acid. sulphovanillin was used to observe reactions of gloeocystidia. The formulae for these can be found in Hjortstam et al. (1987). spore measurements in the descriptions of the species are based on 30 measurements per specimen. The following abbreviations are used in the descriptions of species: L m = mean length of all measurements of spores from all collections of the species, W m = mean width of all measurements of spores from all collections of the species, Q m = L m to W m ratio, Q = length to width range ratio, n = number of measurements. spore size is given without the apiculus. Extreme values are given in parentheses and the 90 % most commonly recorded values are given in between. None of the mea� surements were taken from a spore print. Line drawings were made by author with a drawing tube (nikon Y-IDT) or were made from images acquired with a nikon coolpix 4500 digital camera. Specimens are deposited at KRAM and duplicates are in the author's private herbarium (DK).
The literature data indicate that Vararia gallica is a very rare European species, reported from Denmark (Christiansen 1960), France (Boidin, Lanquetin 1975;Boidin, Gilles 1999;Boidin, Michel 1998), Germany (Grosse�Brauckmann, Kummer 2004), the Netherlands (arnolds et al. 1995), the Czech republic (Pouzar 1982), sweden (Hjortstam 1984), Estonia (Parmasto, Parmasto 2005), spain (Tellería 1990) and Poland. A single specimen of Vararia gallica was reported from the Lanaittu Valley in Sardinia in Italy. The specimen was collected from the stems of Helichrysum Mill. growing below the soil line (Bernicchia 2001;onofri 2005 Basidiocarps annual, resupinate, widely effused, membranaceous when fresh to chalky-crustaceous when dry, not separable, up to 0.4 mm thick, forming irregular patches and linear areas up to 35 cm long and 10 cm wide. Hymenial surface smooth, slightly pulverulent under lens, cream, straw-coloured, warm yellow or ochraceous, sterile parts sometimes with a pale orange tint. Margin usually paler than the hymenial surface, thinning out, adnate, powdery to fibrillose, a few narrow hyphal strands sometimes present. Hyphal system dimitic. Generative hyphae clamped, clamps present at all primary septa, hyaline, 1.6�4.8 μm wide, scantly branched, mainly thin� walled, but thick-walled to nearly solid hyphae also present in the subicular layer and in the core of hyphal strands. Dichohyphae and dichohyphidia are predominant structures in all parts of the basidiocarp, thick�walled, with main branches 0.8�3.2 μm wide, pale yellow in 5% KoH, with variable dextrinoid reaction, from golden yellow red to dark red brown. Dichohyphae present in hyphal strands, subicular and subhymenial layer, with long main and ultimate branches, up to 55 μm, main branches up to 3 μm wide. Dichohyphidia in the hymenial layer more robust than subicular and subhymenial ones, more or less ellipsoid in outline, with main branches up to 4.5 μm wide, ultimate branches slender and pointed. Septate "elbow-like" swellings sometimes observed on the main branches of dichohyphidia. catahymenium consists of dichohyphidia, basidia and gloeocystidia. Gloeocystidia irregular in shape, cylindrical, clavate to subulate, few with schizopapillae; subulate gloeocystidia 30�48 × 3.5�4.8 μm, cylindrical and clavate gloeocystidia 35�80 × 4�10 μm, thin�walled, with yellowish, granular content; all cystidia sulphonegative. Basidia scanty, cylindrical to clavate and elongate, with constriction, 30�45 × 4�5 μm, with 4 sterigmata, basal part up to 7.5 μm wide. Basidiospores pip�shaped, lacrymoid to fusiform or clavate� fusiform, with a rounded apex and long acuminate tip often separated from the main spore body by a (pseudo)septum, sometimes collapsed, smooth, thin-walled, commentS. Main characters of Vararia investiens are the presence of clamp connections on generative hyphae and fusiform spores with a (pseudo)septum. Basidiospores are unique among European members of the genus: a (pseudo)septate spore tip is observed only in this species making its determination quite easy. other species with fusiform spores with secondary (pseudo)septum are known from subtropical and tropical areas and, in general, their spores are longer than those of Vararia investiens.