Cristataspora Robledo & Costa-Rezende, gen. nov.
Index Fungorum number: MB833554; Facesoffungi number: FoF
Etymology: Referring to basidiospores with endosporic or- namentation as ridges. Crista from Latin: ridge and spora: spores.
Diagnosis: Basidiomata stipitate with a dull pilear surface and a whitish context without bands. Hyphal system di- trimitic, composed of clamped generative hyphae, arboriform, and skeleto-binding hyphae. Basidiospores ellipsoid to ovoid, truncated at the apex, double-walled with endosporic orna- mentation as vertical or transverse ridges.
Description: Basidiomata annual, stipitate, mesopodal to pleuropodal, pileus circular, semicircular, reniform to slightly flabelliform. Pilear surface glabrous concentrically sulcate and zonate, with various shades of chestnut and brown. Context corky to fibrous, homogenous, whitish when fresh to pale yellow when dried. Tubes cream to grayish yellow. Pore sur- face cream to yellowish. Pores regular, circular to angular. Stipe cylindrical, with a homogeneous context, fibrous and concolorous with the context. Pileipellis as a hymenoderm with cannulated caps or diverticulate hyphae, cylindrical with warty projections, IKI-. Hyphal system di-trimitic, generative hyphae clamped, thin-walled, hyaline, arboriform and skeleto- binding hyphae hyaline to pale yellow, thick-walled, IKI-. Cystidia absent. Basidia barrel-shaped, with four sterigmata. Basidiospores ellipsoid to ovoid, truncated at apex, yellowish, double-walled, with conspicuous endosporic ornamentations as vertical or transverse ridges, cyanophilous, IKI -.
Ecology and Distribution: Neotropical, growing on the ground associated with roots or on decayed angiosperm wood (Decock and Herrera-Figueroa 2007).
Typification: Polyporus coffeatus Berk., Annals and Magazine of Natural History 3: 385, 1839.
Notes: – The main macro and microscopic characteristics, i.e. white context, dull pileus surface, and pale yellowish ba- sidiospores with endosporium ornamented with disjoint cris- tae, characterize Cristataspora the at genus level and justify its placement among Ganodermataceae in its classical circum- scription. Due the irregular ornamentation of the endosporium, Cristataspora species have been previously re- lated to Humphreya. However, the treatment of G. coffetaum under Humphreya has been questioned, and it has been kept in Ganoderma in references works (Ryvarden 2004; Decock and Herrera-Figueroa 2007) or artificially maintained in Humphreya (Welti and Courtecuisse 2010). Humphreya lloydii (Pat. & Har.) Steyaert, the type species of Humphreya, and the two Neotropical species are not mono- phyletic (Welti and Courtecuisse 2010; Yombiyeni 2014) and the need of a new generic taxon for G. coffetum and G. flaviporum has been previously suggested (Welti and Courtecuisse 2010). See further comments in discussion.
Species
Polyporus coffeatus