Panus subfasciatus – Facesoffungi number: FoF 02915

Panus subfasciatus Thongbai, Karun., C. Richter & K.D. Hyde

Index Fungorum number: IF 552827 Facesoffungi number: FoF 02915

Etymology: subfasciatus refers to the similarity to P. fasciatus

Holotype: MFLU 16-2129

Basidiomata small-sized, often short and stocky, 1.2–2.5 × 0.5–1.0 cm in diameter, cylindric, brownish violet to purple brown (11D5–6) when young, greyish ruby to ruby (12D7–8) when old, leathery, solid, dry; surface concolorous with the pileus, velutinate, fully covered with short and soft hairs, brownish grey (11C2); context white to pale purplish, consisting a dimitic hyphal system with skeletal hyphae. Pileus 2.5–5.5 cm in diameter, thin, slightly umbilicate centre, coriaceous, infundibuliform; surface brownish grey to violet brown (10E3–4), often purplish fuscous especially towards the margin, velutinate with numerous hispid squamules forming erect hairs or hispid-strigose; margin at first involute, then hispid. Lamellae 0.3 mm broad, with 3–5 tiers of lamellulae, deeply decurrent, purplish black, moderately distant to moderately crowded.

Basidiospores (5.03–) 5.28–6.44 (–6.56) × (3.04–) 3.33–4.16 (–4.44) μm (n=40) L_m = 5.73 μm, W_m = 3.61 μm, Q = (1.34–) 1.43–1.92 (–1.95), Q_m = 1.60 μm, ellipsoid to elongate, hyaline, thin walled, with few contents. Basidia 17–21 × 7–10 μm, clavate to elongate clavate, 4-spored or occasionally 2-spored, with sterigmata up to 6 μm long; clamps present at base of basidia. Lamella edge sterile with abundant cheilocystidia. Cheilocystidia 24–28 × 15–25 μm, clavate, hyaline, thin-walled. Sclerocystidia abundant on the sides of the lamellae, 32–40 (−55) × 6−9 (–12) μm, initially clavate, thin- walled. Pileipellis an epicutis of impact, interwoven, slightly thick-walled; generative hyphae 2.4–5 μm wide, branching, with clamp connections. Generative hyphae 2.5–3 μm, inflated, undifferentiated hyphae, hyaline, thin-walled, branching, with clamp connections. Skeletal hyphae 2.5–3.5 μm, cylindrical, hyaline, slightly thick-walled.

Habitat: On dead and rotting wood in forest of Fagaceae.

Material examined: THAILAND, Chiang Rai Province, along the road number 1149, Mae Fah Luang Sub-District, Mae Fah Luang District, 17 June 2014, collector Benjarong Thongbai (MFLU 16-2129, holotype). GenBank number ITS:LT614958.

Notes: Panus subfasciatus is characterized by its brownish violet to purple brown young basidomata. Later they turn greyish ruby, leathery, solid, dry and are fully covered with short brownish grey hairs. In some aspects it bears a superficial resemblance to Lentinus fasciatus Berk. and Lentinus concentricus Karunarathna, K.D. Hyde & Zhu L. Yang. Panus subfasciatus is easily distinguished from L. fasciatus which its ochraceous basidiomata and abundance of sclerocystidia, which are clavate or fusoid, 22–32 × 4–9 μm (Corner 1981; Pegler 1983). Panus subfasciatus differs from L. concentricus by the later has yellowish brown-clay, velvety, concentrically zonate of basidiomata and absence of sclerocystidia (Karunarathna et al. 2011). Panus subfasciatus also bears a superficial resemblance to Panus conchatus (Bull.) Fr. which also has purplish brown basidiomata but is lacking cilia. The phylogenetic trees obtained from RAxML analyses. Panus subfasciatus was statistically supported in the Polyporaceae. In the major clade, P. subfasciatus clustered in a subclade that predominantly contained Panus species and Lentinus strigosus, while a second subclade exclusively contained Lentinus species. Panus subfasciatus appeared most similar to P. conchatus (unpublished according to the entry in GenBank) and a yet undescribed Panus species (BS=82%). The phylogenetic tree suggests that the nrITS region may be useful for preliminary phylogenetic analyses, also because this is the most frequent DNA locus from which references are available. However, an expanded taxon sampling, best supported by a multi gene genealogy, should be carried out to redefine the boundaries between Lentinus and Panus. The new fungus was recently referred to as Lentinus cf. fasciatus in a report of a new secondary metabolite named lentinulactam (Helaly et al. 2016). Nevertheless, after the outcome of the phylogenetic study we preferred to place it in the genus Panus because it is appears closer to the type species of that genus, P. conchatus.