Is Battarrea phalloides really an endangered species?

Abstract

Battarrea phalloides (Basidiomycota), a fungus included in many Red Lists worldwide, requires verification of its real conservation status. One of the main problems in the assessment of fungal species is that the categorization of some fungi does not properly reflect the current risk of extinction. For example, the IUCN risk category of B. phalloides is oscillating in England and unclear in Hungary. In this contribution, an additional and unpublished element of evaluation is provided. In Italy, the presence of B. phalloides in the soils that are sold in hypermarkets and nurseries determines its inclusion among the common fungi contaminating the substrates. The authors conclude that B. phalloides is therefore more common than records suggest and discuss its ranking under the IUCN criteria.

Keywords:

• Basidiomycota
• IUCN
• soil
• ecology
• distribution

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.