Ramariopsis kunzei Corner 1950

Basidiomata (Fig. 1n) 4.5−6.0 cm high, solitary to gregarious, white (1A1) or pale yellow (1A2), branched up to four times at the apex; branches 1.0−3.0 mm wide, polychotomous below, becoming narrow and dychotomous above, erect, more or less parallel to the main axis, cylindric; axils narrowly U-shaped, apices acute to blunt, never cristate; stipe 5.0−25 × 2.0−6.0 mm, distinct, becoming pale yellow (1A2), shortly villose-tomentose. Context slightly brittle, tough when dry; taste and smell unrecorded.

Basidiospores (Fig. 15 ac) 3.5−4.5 × 3.0−3.5 μm (Q=1.15), subglobose to broadly ellipsoid, hyaline, minutely echinulate to asperulate, spines 0.3−0.5 μm long, uniguttulate, slightly dextrinoid; hilar appendage short (less than 0.5 μm). Basidia (Fig. 15b) 25−38 × 4.0−7.0 μm, clavate, clamped; 2-sterigmate 4.0−5.0 μm long. Cystidia absent. Hymenium ca. 40 μm thick at first, thickening upwards to 150 μm, absent in stipe. Subhymenium to 28.5 μm thick, composed of loosely interwoven hyphae to 5.0 μm wide, clamped and thin-walled. Context with subparallel hyphae 12−15 μm wide, clamped, inflated, thin-walled. Surface of sterile base formed by loosely interwoven hyphae 2.0−4.5 μm wide, clamped, thin-walled.

Habitat and distribution:—It is widespread in temperate, tropical and subtropical forests (Corner 1967a). In the Atlantic Forest this species is usually found on soil and occasionally on decayed wood. In Brazil it is known from Paraná (De Meijer 2006), Rio Grande do Sul (Rick 1959) and Santa Catarina (present study). Also reported for Borneo, Ceylon, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guadalupe, Jamaica, Java, Panama, Philippines, New Zealand, Solomon Islands (Corner 1950, 1970), USA (Burt 1922), Canada (Coker 1923), India (Thind 1961), Spain (Tabarés & Rocabruna 1991), Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, The Netherlands, Sweden (Jülich 1984), Iceland and Norway (Hansen & Knudsen 1997).

Specimens examined:— BRAZIL. Santa Catarina: Florianópolis, Morro da Lagoa, Trilha do Jipe, 27º59'43"S, 49º47'83"W, 09 April 2013, A.C. Magnago 595, 596 (FLOR 56180, 56181).

Additional specimens examined:— BRAZIL. Rio Grande do Sul: São Leopoldo, 1927, J.E. Rick n.n. (BPI 332539, 332540; PACA 12460, as Clavaria kunzei Fr.), ibid., 1932, J.E. Rick n.n. (PACA 17221, 17225, 17235 as Clavulina cartilaginea (Berk. & M.A. Curtis) Corner). MALAYSIA. Sabah: Kinabalu, 21 January 1964, E.J.H. Corner n.n. (BPI 294906). SOLOMON ISLANDS. San Cristobal: Warahito River, 23 July 1965, E.J.H. Corner n.n. (BPI 294905).

Remarks:—This species is very variable in size, shape, color and basidiospore dimensions, but the stipe is always villous or tomentose and the dried basidioma darkens in potash (Corner 1950, 1970). Some basidiomata are pure white, but often they become yellowish, pink or pale yellow (Thind 1961, Jülich 1984, Olariaga 2009). Basidiospore size varied widely in the collections studied (3.0−3.5 × 2.5−3.0 μm for Rick's collection; 5.0−6.5 × 4.5−5.7 μm for the collections from Malaysia and Solomon Islands). The collections from Malaysia and the Solomon Islands are probably a distinct taxon. The Brazilian collections seem to have slightly smaller basidiospores than the collections from other localities. Ramariopsis kunzei has four-spored basidia (Cotton 1907). Thind (1961) described and reported a similar specimen with two-spored basidia and clampless hyphae from Mussoorie, India. Olariaga & Salcedo (2012) elevated R. kunzei var. bispora Schild to the species level based on the two-spored basidia, absence of clamps (attributed to the process of parthenogenesis), smaller basidiomata and lack of pinkish patches in mature specimens. Despite the two-spored basidia, the Brazilian collections studied have clamped hyphae throughout the basidiomata, including the basal tomentum hyphae, and the basidiomata change color when mature. Additionally, R. bispora has crystals among the context hyphae which were not observed in R. kunzei, and the tomentum hyphae of our collection has intermediaries measures between R. bispora (2.5−3.0 μm diam.) and the typical variety of R. kunzei (3.0−4.0 [5.5] μm diam.).