Short Communication Contribution to the Macromycetes of West Bengal, India: 28–33

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Journal of Threatened Taxa
For Focus, Scope, Aims, Policies and Guidelines visit https://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-0 For Article Submission Guidelines visit https://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions For Policies against Scientific Misconduct visit https://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-2 For reprints contact <info@threatenedtaxa.org> West Bengal has a diverse range of biogeographical and ecological conditions due to the presence of the coastal region of the Bay of Bengal on one side and the subalpine mountains of the eastern Himalayan region on the other. This wide array of phyto-topographical features facilitates the luxuriant growth of macrofungi belonging to several types and stature like poroid, dentate, and gilled. The habitat of these fungi varies from saprophytic to humicolous and mycorrhizal (Pradhan et al. 2016).
The genus Ganoderma (Basidiomycota: Polyporales) is a woody, poroid group of saprotrophic fungi. The Abstract: The present paper deals with the report of six poroid woody macro fungi belonging to the family Ganodermataceae from West Bengal in India. The taxonomic account of these collected fungi is represented herein with detailed macro-and micro-morphological features.
distinguishing features of this genus include the presence of truncate basidiospores and the colour reaction of pileus and pore surface, which never turn permanently dark in 10% KOH solution (Sharma 2012).
The present study reports six poroid fungi with their detailed morpho-taxonomic enumeration from the state.

Material and Methods
Macrofungal specimens were collected during the rainy seasons (June-October) of 2010-2017. Colour photographs were taken and macro-morphological features of each specimen were studied in the field. A small part of each fresh specimen was cut and its reaction with chemicals was observed. Each collection was then wrapped in tissue papers and kept separately in a box to avoid contamination. Finally, the collected specimens were withered in a hot air drier until the moisture was totally removed. Microscopic features were observed with a Carl Zeiss AX10 Imager A1 phase contrast microscope from thin handmade sections of the dried basidiocarps stained with congo red and Melzer's reagent. Identification and colour terminology followed Kornerup & Wanscher (1978), Bhosle et al. (2010), and Sharma (2012). Thirty measurements of basidiospores were taken from each sample for calculating the dimensions of the basidiospore. Length/ breadth ratio denotes the Q value. Mean Q value (Q m ) was measured by dividing the total sum of Q value by the total number of spores observed. Hand drawings of different identifying characters were obtained with a camera lucida and a 0.1mm rotring pen, which was used to trace the lines. The voucher specimens were preserved following Pradhan et al. (2015) and were deposited in the Calcutta University Herbarium (CUH), Kolkata, India.
Habit and habitat: Solitary to gregarious, grown on dead wooden log of angiosperm. by its laccate-shaped, laterally stipitate, reddish-brown coloured basidiocarp with whitish margin, distinctly double layered context differentiated by reddish golden brownish-orange upper and light brown (7D4) lower near the tubes, presence of regular, closely packed clavate end cells at the cutis, and basidiospores measuring 7-8.5 × 3.5-5 µm in diameter with Q m of 1.84. The taxon has a worldwide distribution and was previously reported from India (Sharma 2012). The description of the morphological features of the collected specimen matches that of the earlier report. The present collection does not reveal the presence of gasterospores and differs from the material reported from Portugal (Steyaert 1975). The collection reported from East Anglia by Corner (2009), however, varies a bit from the present collection with regard to the size of the basidiospores (9.5-12 × 6-6.5 µm vs 7-8.5 × 3.5-5 µm), which may be attributed to climatic and geographic variations.
The taxon was previously reported from Maharashtra (Bhosle et al. 2010), Dehradun (Sharma 2012), and Punjab (Kaur et al. 2017) in India. Our collection matches the specimens reported from Punjab and Dehradun except for slight variations in the numbers of tube layers present. While the present specimen had 3-4 tube layers, that from Dehradun had 4-7 (Sharma 2012).
Based on the artificial key proposed by Sharma (2012), the presence of chlamydospores characterises the specimen to be Ganoderma flexipes. This taxon has a worldwide distribution and was reported from China (Zhou et al. 2015), India (Uttarakhand) (Sharma 2012), and Vietnam (Steyaert 1972). Our present specimen mostly matches the description of that from India except for having a slightly larger chlamydospore (9.5-10.5 µm vs 6-9.5 µm). The specimen from China differs from the present collection with regard to slightly longer basidiospores (8.5-11 × 5-7 µm vs 7-10 x 4-6.5 µm).
Among morphologically related species, Ganoderma lucidum differs by the presence of white coloured pileus margin and the absence of chlamydospore; G. curtisii (Berk.) Murrill differs by the presence of purplish-brown to black pileus and the absence of chlamydospores; G. ahmadii differs by the presence of uniform coloured context and the absence of chlamydospores (Sharma 2012).
Ganoderma ahmadii was previously reported from Uttarakhand, India (Sharma 2012). Our collection matches the previous report. The specimen reported from Pakistan differs by having double layered context coloured cinnamon buff towards the cutis and Verona brown near the tubes and larger spores (8-11 × 5.5-7 µm;Steyaert 1972).
Among the macro-and micro-morphologically related species, Ganoderma flexipes differs from G. ahmadii on the basis of the presence of chlamydospore in the context and trama. Ganoderma ahmadii is also morphologically different from G. applanatum on the basis of size, shape, and colour of the basidiocarp. The basidiocarp of G. applanatum has sessile, non-laccate pileus with stratified tube, and trichodermis type cutis (Sharma 2012).
Habit and habitat: Cespitose, grown on dead wooden log of angiosperm.
Habit and habitat: Solitary, grown on root of Areca catechu.
Remarks: Ganoderma resinaceum is characterized by features like a sessile, laccate basidiocarp coloured reddish-brown with white margin, double layered context separated by brownish upper and reddishbrown lower side near the tubes, the presence of closely packed clavate end cells at the cutis, and truncate basidiospores measuring 7-13.5 × 4-7 µm.
Ganoderma resinaceum was earlier reported from Italy (Corner 1983) and India (Bhosle et al. 2010;Sharma 2012). Our collection matches those in earlier reports.
Among morphologically related species, Ganoderma lucidum has a distinct stipe, G. flexipes has chlamydospores, and G. applanatum differs by the presence of trichodermis type cutis (Sharma 2012). www.threatenedtaxa.org The Journal of Threatened Taxa is dedicated to building evidence for conservation globally by publishing peer-reviewed articles online every month at a reasonably rapid rate at www.threatenedtaxa.org. All articles published in JoTT are registered under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License unless otherwise mentioned. JoTT allows unrestricted use of articles in any medium, reproduction, and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.