First report of Cordyceps from South American Nothofagus forests

46 FIRST REPORT OF CORDYCEPS FROM SOUTH AMERICAN NOTHOFAGUS FORESTS GREGORY M MUELLER Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, 1L 60605-2496 USA MARIO RAJCHENBERG Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria (Nunez) 1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina The south temperate forests of southern South America are most often dominated by members of the genus Nothofagus (southern beech). Mycological exploration in the area began early (e.g., Charles Darwin sent back collections, including Cyttaria darwinii, to Rev. Berkeley for identification (see The Mycologist 1: 7, 1987) and has continued until today. This interest has resulted in the mycota of macrofungi from the area to be better known than any other part of South America (Singer, 1969; Carnundi, 1975, 1986; Wright and Deschamps, 1975; Horak, 1979; Garrido, 1988; Wright, 1988). The species composition of the higher fungi in this area is quite perplexing. Several genera commonly found in north temperate areas have as of yet not been reported while other genera appear to comprise a dominant part of the mycota. In the Agaricales, members of the Cortinariaceae form an overwhelmingly dominant component of the ectomycorrhizal mycota with roughly 75% of all names of ectomycorrhizal fungi reported from the area belonging to this family. At the same time, only 5 species each of Amanita and Russula, only 5-6 species of the Boletaceae and no species of Lactarius or members of the Cantharellaceae have been reported. Among the Ascomycetes, genera such as Scutellinia and Mollisia are commonly encountered as well as several genera with very restricted distribution such as Cyttaria and Underwoodia. Notably lacking in the literature is a report of any species of Cordyceps from Nothofagus forests of this region. We have found only one report of a Cordyceps collected in southern South America (Sydow, 1932). Sydow reported one collection of Cordyceps robertsii (Hook.) Gray, treated as C. lavarum (Westwood) Olliff in Kobayasi's 1941 monograph, from the province of Valdivia in southern Chile. No information was sup- plied regarding the forest type from where the specimen came in this floristically rich and complex region and it is impossible to say whether or not it was collected under Nothofagus. Cordyceps is a distinctive genus of Ascomycetes whose species are obligate parasites on either insect larvae, spiders or on members of the false truffle genus Elaphomyces (Kobayasi, 1941, 1982; Evans & Samson, 1987). Species have been reported from nearly all forested areas, including north temperate zones (Petch, 1938; Kobayasi, 1941; Mains, 1958), Austral Asia, including Nothofagus forests (Cunningham, 1921; Dingley, 1953; Willis, 1959; Kobayasi & Shimizu, 1976), Africa (Moureau, 1949), and tropical South America (Spegazzini, 1881; Sydow, 1932; Petch, 1931; Mains, 1940; Evans & Samson, 1984). The lack of reports from temperate South America is surprising considering the relatively extensive amount of field work that has been carried out in the area. A collection of Cordyceps militaris (Fr.) Link growing on a lepidopteran larvae (moth, identification kindly supplied by A Newton, Division of Insects, Field Museum) was found by us at just below tree line under a more or less pure stand of Nothofagus pumilia (P & E) Krasser near the Argentina-Chile border at Paso Puyehue, Province of Neuquen, Argentina. While this species is described as having a cosmopolitan distribution, we have found few reports of it occurring outside of the north temperate zone. Willis (1959) reported three collections of C. militaris from the Otway range in Victoria, Australia, presumably under Nothofagus while Kobayasi and Shimizu (1976,1981) reported it from New Guinea and Taiwan. A description of this species can be found in many works (e.g. Petch, 1938; Kobayasi, 1941; Mains, 1958; Phillips, 1981; Breitenbach & Kranzlin, 1984) 47 Fig. 1. Cordyceps militaris (Fr.) Link. Argentina, Provo Neuquen, Paso Puyehye, RT 231, 5 km east of the Angentina-Chile border, growing on a lepidopteran larvae (moth), under a more or less pure stand of Nothofagus pumilia (P. et K) Krasser, 1000 malt., 20.111.1987, G M Mueller 2568 (F Na 1077652, BAFC 31033). REFERENCES: J& F (1984). Fungi of Switzerland. 1. Ascomycetes. Luzern: Verlag Mykologia, 310 pp. O:NI\INCllAM, G H (1921). The genus of Cordyceps in New Zealand. Transactions and Proceedings '1fthe New Zealand BRF.m:I\HACIL KR/i.I\ZWJ. InstHute 3, 372-382. O"CLEYj M (1953). The Hypocreales of New Zealand V. The genera Cordyceps and Torrubiella. TrcnsccJons of the Royal Society of New Zealand 81, 329-343. Evccs He & SA/l.lSOM. R A (1984). Cordyceps species and their anarnorphs pathogenic on ants [Formicidae] in tropical forest ecosystems. II. The Camponotus (Formicinae] complex. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 82, 127-150. EV:\NS. H C & SAVlS(N. R A (1987). Fungal pathogens of spiders. The Mycologist 1, 152-159. c'''-'VllJNDi. I J [1975). Fungi, Ascomycetes - Pezizales. In Flora Cnptogcmicc de Tierra del Fuego vol. 10(3) fed. Guarrera et al.). pp 7·185. Buenos Aires: Fundacion para la Educacion, la Ciencia y la Cultura. GAMUNDI, I j (19B6). Fungi Ascomycetes - Cyttariales. Helotiales: Geoglossaceae, Dermateaceae. In Flora Criptogomico Buenos Aires: Consejo Nade Tierra del Fuego 10: 7-12~. cional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. GARRloo. N (1988). Agaricales s.l. und ihre Mykorrhizen in den Nothofagus - weldern Mittelchiles. Bibliotheca Mycologia 120. Berlin-Stuttgart: j. Cramer. 528 pp. HORAK. E (1979). Fungi, Basidiomycetes - Agaricales y Gasteromycetes Secotioides. In Flora Cnptogcmrcc de Tierra del Fuego vol. 11(6). (ed. Guarrera et al. ) pp. 7-525. Buenos Aires: Fundaci6n para Ia Educaci6n, la Ciencia y la Cultura. KOBAYASJ. Y (1941). The genus Cordyceps and its allies. Science Reports on the Tokyo Bunrika Daigaku, Section B 5. 53-260. KOBAYASI, Y & SHIMIZU. D (1976). The genus Cordyceps and its allies from New Guinea. Bulletin of the National Science Museum, Ser. B 2, 133-151. KOBAYASI. Y & SHIMIZU. D (1981). The genus Cordyceps and its allies from Taiwan (Formosa). Bulletin of the National Science Museumn, Ser. B 7, 113·122. KOBAYASI. Y (1982). Keys to the taxa of the genera Cordyceps and Torrubtelic. Transactions of the Mycological Society of japan 23, 329-364. MAINS.E B (1940). Cordyceps species from British Honduras. Mycalagia 32,16-22. MAL'JS.E B (1958). North American Entomogenous species of Cardyceps. Mycologia 50. 169·222. MOUREAU. J (1949). Cordyceps du Congo Belge. Memoires de l'!nstitut Royal Colonial Belge, Sciences NatureJles 7,1-58. PITcH. T (1923). Studies in entomogenous fungi. IV. SOfie Ceylon Cordyceps. Transactions of the British Mycological Scc.etv 9. 28-45. PErm. T (I931). Notes on entornogenous fungi. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 16, 209-245. PhTCIL T (1938). British Hypocreales. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 21, 243·305. PHIIlJPS, R (1981). Mushrooms and other Fungi of Great Britain and Europe. London: Pan books, 288 pp. SA..'vISON. R A & EVANS. H C (1985). New and rare entomogenous fungi from Amazonia. Proceedings of the Indian Academy ()f Sciences [plant Sciences) 94, 309-317. SINCER. R (1969). Mycoflora Australis. Lehre, Germany: J. Cramer, 405 pp. SI'ECAZZINI, C (1881). Fungi Argentini. Anales de 10 Sociedad Cientifica Argentina 12, 208-227. (reprint ed. 1971. Amsterdam: Linnaeus Press. 260 pp.). SYlXJvv. H (1932). Fungi Chilenses a d. E. Wedermann lecti. II. Anales Mycologici 30, 81-90. WIWS. j H (1959). Australian species of the fungal genus Cordyceps (Fr.) Link. Muelleria 1, 67-89. WRIGHT.J E (1988). Interrelaciones entre macromycetes (Fungi) y Nothofagus. Monografias della Academia Nacionol de Ciencios Exactas, Fisicas y Naturales (Buenos Aires) 4, 135-152. WRICHT, J E & DE.'iCHAMPS. J R (1975). Fungi, Basidiomycetes Aphyllophorales: Fistulinaceae, Mucronosporaceae, Polyporaceae. In Flora Criptog6mica de Tierra del Fuego vol. iI(3J. (ed. Guarrera et al.), pp. 7-62. Buenos Aires: Fundacion para la Educacion, Ia Ciencia y Ia Cultura.