Lilliput brittlegill (Russula lilliputia) and Pakaraimaea brittlegill (Russula pakaraimaeae)

NEWS - Two new species of Russula from Guyana with small basidiomata: lilliput brittlegill (Russula lilliputia) and Pakaraimaea brittlegill (Russula pakaraimaeae) found in association with the hosts Dicymbe altsonii and Pakaraimaea dipterocarpacea were identified as new species based on a combined approach of morphological characterization and molecular analysis.

Ectomycorrhizal fungi (ECM) have historically been considered underrepresented in Neotropical forests, however, pockets of forest occupying the white sands region of the central Guiana Shield of Guyana are dominated by leguminous ECM trees that support an extraordinary diversity of fungi.

Russulaceae comprise the largest number of species in this region. The discovery of two new species of Russula expands our understanding of fungal diversity and the genus Russula in particular, along with the biogeography and ecosystem dynamics of often undercollected tropical forests.

R. lilliputia has small basidiomata and a fruiting habit that reaches 1.5 meters high on tree trunks, making it an exceptional fungus. The species complex of R. annulata and R. radicans in Africa is known as "lilliputiennes" because of its small size, but the basidiome of R. lilliputia is much smaller, possibly the smallest Russula ever described.

This species is characterized by a very small red pileus, not exceeding 5 mm, a solid stipe with pruinose and pileus when dry, production of basidiomes on the stem surface of D. altsonii, spores with indistinct suprahilar plage, sparse and low interconnections between verrucae, long hair-like pileocystidia arising from the epithelioid layer of swollen cells and a white spore cast.

R. lilliputia is known from only one large collection, the Upper Potaro Basin of Guyana. The type collection consists of all stages of basidiome development including about 30 individual basidiomata and primordia spread over an area of 0.5 m2 of stem surface.

R. pakaraimaeae is characterized by a 5-17 (25) mm pileus, occurring in the Upper Mazaruni Basin of Guyana in marginal forests around the Pegaima savanna in association with P. dipterocarpaceae and possibly D. jenmanii, fruiting habit with a single branching or rhizoidal base attached to large fallen leaves and organic debris. The species is solitary or in small groups in December.

Pileus dark red to purple-brown with pruinose white margins when young, stipe thick when wet then with prominent fibrillar squamules often pink when dry, spores isolated verrucous without interconnection and distinct suprahilar plage sometimes forming a partial collar on the apicululus, long hair-like pileocystidia arising from scattered swollen cells.

Original research

Steven L. Miller, M. Catherine Aime & Terry W. Henkel (2024). Russulaceae of the Pakaraima Mountains of Guyana 5. Two newly described diminutive species in a novel lineage of the crown clade of Russula (Russulaceae), Phytotaxa 668 (2): 117–129, DOI:10.11646/phytotaxa.668.2.1

Dlium theDlium

Purwaceng (Pimpinella pruatjan)

Purwaceng or purwoceng or antanan gunung or Viagra of Java ( Pimpinella pruatjan or Pimpinella priatjan ) are small termas growing horizontally in Apiaceae, growing in villages on Dieng Plateau, Central Java Province, Indonesia, at 1,500 to 2,000 meters above sea level, the roots have medicinal properties for aphrodisiacs and are usually processed in powder form for a mixture of coffee or milk. P. pruatjan grows flat on the ground but does not propagate, small leaves are reddish green for 1-3 cm in diameter. This plant is only found in Java and grows in high mountain areas. A low population where industrial demand is very high results in increasingly scarce. Another place that is likely to become a purwaceng habitat is the Iyang Mountains and the Tengger Mountains in East Java Province. Efforts to multiply and cultivate have a big problem where these plants have difficulty producing seeds. In vitro propagation research through tissue cultivation has been carried out to overcome ...

Six new species forming the Sumbana species group in genus Nemophora Hoffmannsegg 1798 from Indonesia

NEWS - Sumbawa longhorn ( Nemophora sumbana Kozlov, sp. nov.), Timor longhorn ( Nemophora timorella Kozlov, sp. nov.), shining shade longhorn ( Nemophora umbronitidella Kozlov, sp. nov.), Wegner longhorn ( Nemophora wegneri Kozlov, sp. nov.), long brush longhorn ( Nemophora longipeniculella Kozlov, sp. nov.), and short brush longhorn ( Nemophora brevipeniculella Kozlov, sp. nov.) from the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia. The Lesser Sunda Islands consist of two parallel, linear oceanic island chains, including Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Sumba, Sawu, Timor, Alor, and Tanimbar. The oldest of these islands have been continuously occurring for 10–12 million years. This long period of isolation has allowed significant in situ diversification, making the Lesser Sundas home to many endemic species. This island chain may act as a two-way filter for organisms migrating between the world's two great biogeographic regions, Asia and Australia-Papua. The recognition of a striking cli...

New living fossil, Amethyst worm lizard (Amphisbaena amethysta), from Espinhaço Mountain Range, Brazil

NEWS - New species from the northern Espinhaço Mountains, Caetité municipality, Bahia state, Brazil. Amethyst worm lizard ( Amphisbaena amethysta ) is the 71st species of the genus with 4 precloacal pores and the 22nd species of Caatinga morphoclimatic domain. Identification of the new species shows the reptiles of the Mountains are far from complete and may contain greater diversity of endemic taxa. A. amethysta can be distinguished by its anteriorly convex snout, slightly compressed and unkeeled, pectoral scales arranged in regular annuli, four precloacal pores, distinct head shield, 185-199 dorsal and half annuli, 13-16 caudal annuli, a conspicuous autotomy spot between the 4th-6th caudal annuli, 16-21 dorsal and ventral segments in the middle of the body, 3/3 supralabials, 3/3 infralabials and a smooth and rounded tail tip. A. amethysta occurs in areas with an average elevation of 1000 meters in patches of deciduous and semi-deciduous forests associated with valleys, slopes, fore...

Dlium