Abstract
Macro- and micromorphological characters of specimens of the genus Pleurotus (Fr.) P. Kumm. in Argentina obtained in the field and from different national herbaria were analyzed. Cultivation techniques were used to obtain basidiomata, allowing for a macro- and micromorphological study of fresh developing fruit bodies. We concluded that in Argentina there are, so far, six species, namely P. albidus, P. cystidiosus, P. ostreatus, P. pulmonarius, P. rickii and P. djamor, the latter with three varieties: var. djamor, var. cyathiformis and var. roseus.
This research was supported by PRHIDEB-CONICET/Argentina. We wish to thank the curators of BAFC, LIL and LPS herbaria for making available collections of species of Pleurotus for this study, as well as the curators of BAFC, CBS and MUCL culture collections for making available strains. We also thank Mario Rajchenberg (Esquel, Argentina), who provided the collection and strain of P. ostreatus from Patagonia, Argentina, and Dr R.H. Petersen (Knoxville, Tennessee) for supplying valuable information on Pleurotus species. This is paper No. 158 of the PRHIDEB-CONICET series.