Fomitopsis mounceae and F. schrenkii—two new species from North America in the F. pinicola complex

ABSTRACT

Two new species, Fomitopsis mounceae and F. schrenkii (Polyporales, Basidiomycota) in the F. pinicola species complex in North America, are described and illustrated. Previous molecular phylogenetic analyses identified three well-delimited lineages that represent F. mounceae and F. ochracea from Canada, the Appalachian Mountains, and the northern United States and F. schrenkii from western and southwestern regions of the United States. Fomitopsis pinicola sensu stricto is restricted to Eurasia and does not occur in North America. Morphological descriptions of basidiocarps and cultures for F. mounceae, F. schrenkii, and F. ochracea are presented. The three species are readily differentiated by nuc rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 = ITS) sequence, geographic distribution, and basidiospore size. Polyporus ponderosus H. Schrenk is an earlier illegitimate synonym of F. schrenkii. Both F. mounceae and F. schrenkii have a heterothallic multiallelic incompatibility system.

KEYWORDS:

• Basidiomycota
• brown rot
• Fomes pinicola
• Fomitopsidaceae
• 2 new taxa

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Curators from the following herbaria arranged for specimen loans: BPI, CUW, H, NY, TRTC, and UTC. The curator of the CCFC culture collection (Ottawa) supplied isolates to generate sequences by Hélène Labbé. We thank the following individuals for their assistance with obtaining specimens or photographs used in this study: Manfred Binder, Robert Blanchette, Harold Burdsall, Tom Coleman, Daniel Del Pinte, Kymberly Draeger, József Geml, Jack Gerring, Andrew Graves, Tom Haight, Diane Hildebrand, James Jacobs, Heikki Kotiranta, Daniel Lindner, Joe McFarland, Dana Richter, Jonathan S. Schilling, Craig Schmitt, Tatiana Semenova, Ina Timling, Lori Trummer, Andrus Voitk, and James Worrall. Ken Kietzer, California State Parks, assisted S. Redhead in obtaining a collection permit for Mt. Jacinto State Park. We also thank Konstanze Bensch, Paul Kirk, Tom May, and Shaun Pennycook for a consensus opinion on the validity of the name Fomitopsis ochracea versus “Fomitopsis populicola.” Kevin McCullough (USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station) assisted with the distribution map, and Karen Nelson (USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory) prepared many of the figures.

SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s Web site.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, and the National Science Foundation through awards EF-0333308 and ARC-0632332 to D.L.T.