An overview of the fungi of Melbourne

2011·4.9 MB·English

by  Tom W May

Contributions
An overview ofthe fungi ofMelbourne
W
Tom May
RoyalBotanicGardensMelbourne,PrivateBag2000,SouthYarra,Victoria3141
Abstract
NumerousfungiarefoundingreaterMelbourneduetothevarietyofsubstratesavailableinparksandgardens
andinremnantnativevegetation.Specimenandsightrecorddataonthe866fungiknownfromMelbourneare
summarised.IntheNationalHerbariumofVictoriathereare2501collectionsoffungifromgreaterMelbourne
representing549non-lichenisedand269lichenisedspecies.IntheFungimapdatabase,thereare2664records
of155species,including48speciesnotrepresentedintheNationalHerbarium.Examplesofcommonspecies
aretabulated.Fungiassociatedwithparticularsubstratesorhabitatsaresummarised,includingthoseondead
woodand litterandinlawns aswell asectomycorrhizalpartners ofexotic and native trees. Remnantnative
vegetation harboursconsiderable fungaldiversity. Important questions remain to beansweredaboutfactors
affectingtheoccurrenceoffungiandthepotentialeffectsofclimatechange.NewtoolsfromtheAtlasofLiving
Australiawillassistincompilingandanalysingdata,andmoleculardatahasthepotentialtoexpeditespecies
identification.Melbourneisanexcellentlocaletostudyfungiduetoitsconcentrationofnaturalistsincombi-
nationwithavarietyofhabitatssuitableforfungi. (The VictorianNaturalist128(5)2011, 183-197)
Key'words: Ectomycorrhizalfungi; saprotrophicfungi;biodiversity; inventory; urbanecology
Introduction
The Handbook of Melbourne, compiled as a was notonlyafineplantpathologistbutapro-
guide to attendees at the meeting ofthe Aus- lific writer on fungi. His publications included
tralasian Association for the Advancement of comprehensive monographs on the rust- and
Science held in Melbourne in 1900, included smut-fungi, including species on both crop
chapters on topics such as geologyandclimate plants and native hosts. Admittedly, work on
and on various animal groups. There was also the larger fungi such as mushrooms and coral
a chapter on botany, but this did not mention fungi didnot startin Australia until afewdec-
fungi. Until the mid 20th century fungi were ades into the 20th century, commencing with
usually treated as lower plants, but are now the efforts ofmycologists such as John Cleland
considered to belong to a separate kingdom of (May 1990).
the living world with their own unique struc- Whatever the reasons for the omission of
tureandbiology. fungi from the 1900 Handbook ofMelbourne,
KnowledgeofAustralianfungididlagbehind the inclusion ofFungi in the 2010 FNCV Bio-
that ofother groups such as flowering plants, diversity Symposium provided an opportunity
birds and mammals (May and Pascoe 1996). to survey the fungi ofMelbourne in terms of
However, by the end of the 19th century a past and current knowledge and research, and
Handbook to Australian Fungi had been com- in regard to future prospects forimproving in-
piledbyMordeccaiCooke, anEnglishMycolo- formation on, and understanding of, fungi in
gist. Cooke never came to Australia, butbased Melbourne.
his descriptions of species on the numerous
Melbourneashabitatforfungi
specimens sent to European herbaria by col-
lectors from across Australia, including many While urban areas are not so favourable for
from Victoria. Aroundthe same time, in 1890, somegroupsofnativebiota,such asmammals,
Daniel McAlpine had been appointed to the Melbourne is a rich habitat for fungi because
post ofConsulting Vegetable Pathologist with there is plenty of vegetation, both in private
theVictorianDepartmentofAgriculture,based and public gardens and also in remnant and
in Melbourne (Mayand Pascoe 1996). The ‘fa- regeneratedbushland. All parts ofplants, at all
ther of Australian plant pathology’, McAlpine stages, living and dead, are food for fungi. The
Voll28 (5) 2011 183
Contributions
variety ot species ofplants, both in cultivation water. Thirdly, fungi intersect with the human
andinthebush,andthedifferentformsofdead inhabitants ofthe citywhen consumed as food
plantmaterial (leaves,logs,stumps,mulchetc.) (FieldMushroomAgaricuscampestris) orcaus-
provide numerous substrates for different spe- ing poisoning such as from ingestions of Yel-
cies offungi. Even an average suburban back- low Stainer Agaricus xanthodermas or Death
yard with lawn, garden beds and trees, as well Cap Amanita phalloides (Fig. 1). FFowever, the
as piles oftree clippings and compost, has nu- important ecological roles offungi in nutrient
meroussubstratessuitableforfungi. recycling and as mutualistic partners ot most
Fungal dispersal is by minute, mostly wind- green plants are largely overlooked, although
dispersed spores, and thus fungi can rapidly these roles are carried out under our noses in
colonise newly available substrates; whether everyparkandgarden.
a recently created earth bank next to a free- Most fleshy fungi, such as mushrooms, pro-
way (a favourite site for Coprinus comatus), a duce fruit-bodies for only a couple of weeks,
freshlymulchedgardenbed ora newlyplanted usuallyin autumn aftersuitable rain. However,
seedling. thevegetative mycelium is often persistent and
Fungi are most obvious to people firstly as fruit-bodies can appear in the same spot from
pathogens of garden plants, particularly no- oneyeartothenext,butnotalwayseveryyear.
ticeable on vegetables and fruit trees, but also Urban fungi have not received much attention
occurring on all exotic and native plants. Sec- in the scientific literature. A recent review by
ondly,peopleareawareoftheunwantedeffects Newbound et al. (2010b; p. 143) concluded
ofwood-rottingfungithatcanweakenhousing that ‘it isconceivablethat urbanisation iscaus-
timbers, especially when not protected from ing the loss offungi before they are recorded
Fig. 1.DeathCapAmanitaphalloidesunderOaksontheOakLawn,RoyalBotanicGardensMelbourne.
184 TheVictorianNaturalist
Contributions
and their value understood’. Newbound et al.
(2010b) emphasised the important ecological
roles offungi, including direct effects as part- FUNGIMAP
ners in mutualisms such as mycorrhizas, but Fungimap Inc. is a national organisation
also as food for animals, and noted that fungi dedicated to improving knowledge and
also contributeto maintaininggood soilstruc- conservationofnativefungi.Themapping
ture. These authors also highlightthepotential scheme undertaken byFungimap focuses
threats to fungi through altered soil nutrient on readily recognisable target species of
status,especiallyelevatedlevelsofnitrogenand macrofungi. There are currently 115 tar-
phosphorus, and negative effects ofsoil acidity get species, most ofwhich are coveredby
andheavymetalpollution. FungiDown Under(GreyandGrey2005).
DatasourcesonMelbournefungi Records are welcome from members and
Melbourne is interpreted in a broad sense non-members.Forinstructionstorecord-
(‘greaterMelbourne’) withanareaofmorethan ers, training opportunities, membership
8000km^,includingbothhighlyurbanisedinner andissuesoftheFungimapNewslettersee:
suburban areas and outer suburban areas often http://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/fungimap
with large areasofbushland, butnotextending
to towns separated by predominantly rural ar-
eas, such as Healesville and Warburton. Apart CollectionsoffungifromMelbourneareheld
fromashortentryonFungi intheEncyclopedia mainly in the National Herbarium ofVictoria
ofMelbourne (May2005a) there is no compila- (MEL).Duringthe 19thcenturyFerdinandvon
tionorchecklistofthefungiofMelbourne. Mueller encouraged collecting offungi from a
Fromtheearliestdaysofthe FieldNaturalists wide network of collectors (May and Pascoe
ClubofVictoria,fungalforayswereheld,some- 1996), and in the 20th century, current and
times in areas within or close to Melbourne past herbarium staff, such as Jim Willis, have
such as Lilydale (May 2005b). From the time continued to collect fungi, have encouraged
that James (‘Jim’) Willis was involved with the others to do so, and have ensured that there is
Club, some foray lists were published, such as a home for significant fungal herbaria such as
those for visits to Humphries Hill, Frankston that formerly held in the CSIRO Division of
(McLennan and Willis 1937) and Sherbrooke Forest Products, assembledbyNeville Walters.
Forest(Willis 1968).Inaddition,therearelikely MostfungiheldinMELaredatabasedandhave
tobe unpublished fungal foraylists amongthe geocode information available. The most sig-
Willis papers held in the archives ofthe Royal nificant other set of macrofungal specimens
BotanicGardensMelbourne.Inthelastdecade, from Melbourne is held in the Herbarium of
the Fungi Group ofthe FNCV has carried out RoyalBotanicGardensKew(K),sentmainlyin
around 10 fungal forays each year, mainly in the 19thcentury. However,thesespecimensare
areas outside of(but near to) Melbourne. Full notyetdatabased.
lists are compiled for each foray and most of Method of compiling a list of the fungi of
these lists have been submitted to the Fungi- Melbourne
map database. A fungal survey ofWattle Park
wascarriedoutbytheFNCVinthemid 1990s, bToourganien raeqluisitreosf cfruonsgsi smpaetccifhiicnagllyoffrtohme Maerle-a
yieldingnumerouscollections (May2005b).
within the boundary of greater Melbourne
From the inception of the Fungimap fungi
(which is irregular) with specimen and sight
mnuampeprionugsscshigehmter(esceoerdbsoxha1)veinbteheenmsiudbm1i9t9t0esd, record data. This is not readily achievable
within the current structure ofherbarium and
fromMelbourne. Fungimaprecordsaremainly
sightrecord databases, and therefore asan ini-
ooff1ot1h5etrarsgpeetcisepse,cieessp,ebcuiatltlhyearemoarnegaltshoerFecNoCrdVs tbioaulrenfefo,rtboatthcotmhpeiMliEnLgahollisdtionfgsfuanngditfhreomFuMnegli--
FungiGroupforays. maprecorddatabasewerequeriedforallFungi,
Vol 128 (5) 2011 185
Contributions
firstly from locations that had the word ‘Mel- Names used follow the draft master list of
bourne’ and were from Victoria, and secondly Australian fungi, currently in preparation for
from locations within the rectangle defined by the Atlas of Living Australia, which for most
latitude 37°40’to38°00'Sandlongitude 144‘’50' species corresponds to the names used in
to 145‘’20'E. The rectangle sits within greater the Interactive Catalogue ofAustralian Fungi
Melbourne, roughly bounded by Altona in the (http://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/dbpages/cat/index.
west, Hurstbridge in the north, Lilydale in the php/fungicatalogue). Many MEL specimens
east and Dandenong in the south, and is about and almost all Fungimap records already had
2000km^(inclusiveofsomeofPortPhilipBay). up-to-date names, but some older synonyms
However, this rectangle does not include sub- hadtobeupdated.
stantialportionsofgreaterMelbourne,particu- Identification of species was that provided
larlytothenorthandeastandalongtheMorn- on herbarium specimensand forsight records.
ington Peninsula. The records analysed should Therefore, it is quite likely that some identifi-
be regarded as a sample that will represent a cations need to be revised. In particular, some
reasonable proportion of the specimens and namesareusedinabroadsense.Anexampleis
records in the MEL and Fungimap databases thePluteuscervinusgroup,wherecloserexami-
that are from greater Melbourne. This allows nation, particularly ofmicroscopic characters,
detection ofcommon speciesandtrends. maywell showthatthelocalcollectionsbelong
For each ofthe MEL specimens and Fungi- tootherspeciesofsimilarappearance.
map records, results of the two queries were
ThefungiofMelbourne
combined, duplicate records removed and
older names updated. Some records were also Thereisatotalof2501 collectionsoffungifrom
removed that had the word ‘Melbourne’ in the theMelbourneareaintheNationalHerbarium
locality, but in contexts such as ‘120 km W. of Victoria. Some 2444 collections were from
Melbourne’. Someoftheherbarium records for the defined rectangle and a further 57 collec-
MELhadbeen duplicated in the Fungimap da- tions were from outside of this rectangle, but
tabasebecauseattheoutsetofFungimap,before hadtheword‘Melbourne’aspartoftheirlocal-
Australia’sVirtualHerbariumwasinoperation, ityinformation.
they had been added here. Therefore, herbar- Fungi collections from Melbourne have been
ium records for MEL were removed from the madeby276 differentcollectors,butmorethan
Fungimap data, but not the small number of half(63%) the collections were contributed by
records from the National Collection ofFungi, just 15 collectors, who each contributed more
Knoxfield Herbarium (VPRI), the State Her- than 50 collections. These included Charles
barium ofSouth Australia (AD) and the Aus- French Jnr, James Minchin and Felix Reader,
tralianNationalHerbarium(CANB),almostall whose collections date from the latter decades
ofwhichareforpre-1990 collections. of the 19th century, no doubt encouraged by
The frequency of occurrence of each spe- Mueller. In the 20th century Neville Walters
cies among the MEL holdings and Fungimap made numerous collections ofwood-decaying
recordswascalculatedseparately. Onehundred fungi,originallyhousedintheherbariumofthe
and six species, mostly represented by more CSIRO Division of Forest Products. A signifi-
than one collection and/orrecord, are listed in Mcaenltbocuorlnleec,tiwonasofdfounnagtie,dintcoluMdiEnLg mbaynyGeforrogme
Tables 1-6. In the tables, species are grouped
Crichton. Jim Willis collected fungi between
under readily recognisable groups of conven-
1933 and 1997, and in the period since 1980,
ience, such as ‘mushrooms’, as used in field
guidessuchasFuhrer(2005)andGreyandGrey MfuEngLibfyrBormucMeeFlubhoreurr,neJohhnavEeichbleere,nTelroedsgaeLdeba-t
(2005), rather than by taxonomic groups such
as families. Most specieslisted in the tables are el, Tom May, Nigel Sinnott and the Field Natu-
ralistsClubofVictoria.
represented by voucher specimens held in the
SignificantcollectionsoflichensfromtheMel-
National HerbariumofVictoriathathavebeen
bourne areawere made byRichard Bastowand
collectedfromthegreaterMelbournearea.
Francis Wilson at the end ofthe 19th century
186 TheVictorianNaturalist
Contributions
and by Val Stajsic in recent decades. Six ofthe are: Fuscoporia contigua (mostly from hous-
major collectors have been, or are, staffmem- ing timber such as weatherboards), Serpula
bersoftheHerbarium(French,Minchin,Willis, lacrimans (dryrot on housing timber, particu-
May, LebelandStajsic). larly floorboards and joists), Schizophyllum
Graphs ofthe number ofcollections perdec- commune, Fomitopsis lilacinogilva, Stereum
ade (Figs 2 and 3) reflectthe activities ofthese hirsutum, Ftypholoma fasciculare and Leratio-
major collectors, with apeak for lichens in the myces ceres (most often recorded as Stropharia
decades 1890s and 1900s, and for fungi in the aurantiaca). ExceptfortheHypholoma andthe
1880sandagainin the 1950-1970s (manyfrom Leratiomyces, all these species have persistent
NevilleWaltersandGeorgeCrichton) andthen fruit-bodies. However, fungi with fleshy and
increased collecting activity in the last couple short-lived fruit-bodies, such as mushrooms
ofdecades. andcoralfungi,arewellrepresentedamongthe
Most of the fungi collections in MEL from otheridentifiedspecies.
Melbourne are macrofungi, but there areafew There are 2664 Fungimap records from Mel-
collections of microfungi, such as rust-fungi bourne contributed by 130 recorders, with 10
on native host plants. The fungi collections in recorders contributing 71% of the records.
MEL are a mix ofcosmopolitan species, exotic People contributing morethan 100 records are
species that have been introduced (often with Robert Bender, CecilyFalkingham, Pat andEd
exotic trees) and native species, specifically as- Grey, DorothyMahler, Tom May, JohnEichler,
sociated with native hosts. Individual species Ivan Margitta, Nigel Sinnott and Virgil Hu-
belonging to different groups offungi are dis- bregtse. The first records arrived at Fungimap
cussedinmore detailinthefollowingsections, in 1995, and there is a peak of records from
andintheTables. Melbourne in 1999 (Fig. 4) and a decrease in
Ofthe2501 collections, 1907(76%)areidenti- recent years. The most frequently recorded of
fiedtoatotalof818species(549non-lichenised the 155 species in the Fungimap database are:
and 269 lichenised). The remaining collections Agaricusxanthodermus (431 records), Gymno-
are either identified to genus or onlyto higher pilusjunonius (usuallyas G.pampeanus) (289),
levels such as family. Among the lichenised Oudemansiella radicata (now known to be an
fungithepercentageofcollectionsidentifiedto aggregate, including species such as Xerula
speciesis 87% (of735 collections),in compari- gigaspora) (209), Amanita muscaria (195), Co-
son to 72% (of 1766 collections) for the other prinus comatus (140), Amanita xanthocephala
fungi. This reflects the greater knowledge and (137), Volvariella gloiocephala (as V spedosa)
availabilityofkeysformacrolichens. (109), Bolbitius vitellinus (104) and Mycena
Among the 549 identified species of non-li- viscidocruenta (100). AmongtheFungimap re-
chenised fungi, the most commonly collected cordsfromMelbourneare48specieswhich are
Decadecomnnencing D«i:iiciecommencing
Fig. 2. Numberofcollections offungi (excludingli- Fig. 3. Numberofcollections oflichenisedfungi (li-
chens) from Melbourne in the National Herbarium chens) from Melbourne in the National Herbarium
ofVictoria,bydecadeofcollectiondate. ofVictoria,bydecadeofcollectiondate.
Voll28 (5) 2011 187
Contributions
Fig.4.NumberofFunginiaprecordsforMelbournebyyearofobservation.
not represented by specimens in the National pertractata (as P. gibberosa), Xanthoria coomae,
Herbarium of Victoria from Melbourne, in- TephrornelaatraandCladiaaggregata.Lichensare
cluding distinctive species such as Cortinarius present in remnantbushland, parks and gardens,
australiensisand C. rotundisporus. andmanyhousesharbourlichenson roofingtiles
Comparative data are not available for other or solar hot water panels. Prominent lichens in
Australian cities. However, for King’s Park Melbourne includeXanthoparmelia scabrosa (on
in central Perth, which contains more than asphalt and roofingtiles) andFlavoparmelia ruti-
250haofbushland,Bougher(2010)records285 dota (on fallen timber in remnant bushland and
speciesoffungi, ofwhich 140 aresupportedby alsoonfencesandplantedtrees).
voucherspecimens.
Pathogenicfungi-mostlymicrofungi
Lichenisedfungi Melbourne is likely to be home to many hun-
Lichenisedfungi(commonlyknownaslichens) dreds,ifnotthousands,ofspeciesofpathogen-
are fungi that grow in association with a pho- ic fungi. Most ofthese fungi are microscopic,
tobiont (either green algae or cyanobacteria). visibleonlythroughtheireffectsonhosts, such
Lichenisationallowsfungitogrowinotherwise as leaf spots and blights. Microfungi are pre-
inhospitable sites, such as on rocks. Lichens dominantly Ascomycota, often forming only
have ecological roles in weathering and are asexual spores, but, in contrast, the rust-fungi
particularly important as part ofthe biotic soil and smut-fungi belong to the Basidiomycota.
crust in arid and semi-arid areas ofAustralia. Cunnington (2003) lists around 400 species of
They are also ofvalue as bioindicators due to pathogenicfungionintroducedplantsinVicto-
theirsensitivitytoairpollution. ria, occurring not only on crop plants but also
Amongthe269 speciesoflichenisedfungi re- cultivated garden plants,vegetablesandweeds.
cordedforMelbourne,themostcommonlycol- Earlier lists, such as Washington (1983) for
lected (eachwithmorethan 10collections) are, plant pathogens on fruit and vegetable crops,
inorderofnumberofcollections: Flavoparme- provide specific localities for the firstrecord of
lia rutidota, Hyperphyscia adglutinata, Puncte- each disease on each host, many ofwhich are
liasubrudecta,Ramalinaglaucescens,Pertusaria within greaterMelbourne.
188 TheVictorianNaturalist
Contributions
As one example ofthe manydifferent groups Table 1.Somefungionstumps,deadroots,logsand
ofmicrofungi, rust-fungi form small yellowor deadstandingwoodinMelbourneparksandgardens.
brownpustulesonleavesandstems.Common- Somealsooccurinnativebushland(e.g.Ornphalotus
ly encountered rust-fungi on weeds in subur- nidiformis).
ban gardens includePuccinia lagenophorae (on Mushrooms
Beilis) andP. malvacearum (onMalva). Agrocybecylindrica(onPoplarPopulusand
There will also be numerous native patho- Elm Ulmus)
genicmicrofungionthevarietyofnativeplants Coprinellusdisseminatus
Flammulinavelutipes
that are utilised in horticulture. Galls formed Gymnopilusjunonius{-G.pampeanus)
bythenativerust Uromycladiumareprominent Hypholomafasciculare
on manyAcacia species, both when cultivated Ornphalotusnidiformis
Schizophyllumcommune
andinbushlandremnants.
Amongst the larger fungi, the most signifi- Polypores
cantpathogen is the Australian HoneyFungus Abortiporusbiennis
Armillaria luteobubalina. This native mush- Amaurodermarude(onwattlesAcacia)
Ganodermaaustrale
room attacks not only native plants but also a Phaeolusschweinitzii(onconifers)
range ofexotic trees and shrubs, including cit- Trameteshirsuta
rus. SpeciesofGanoderma suchas Ganoderma Trametesversicolor
australe (commonly misidentified as G. ap- Stereoidfungi
planatum), are also common on trees in parks Chondrostereumpurpureum
andgardens.
labyrinthineorquitesmooth)butidentification
Fungiondeadwoodandlitter usually requires examination of microscopic
Stumps and larger dead wood, including dead features.
standingtrees,arehometovariousbracketfun- Mulch consisting of large pieces of wood
gi and mushrooms that decompose the wood (wood chip mulch) is very commonly used in
(Table 1). These fungi may be entirely sapro- parks and gardens (and even in areas without
trophic, feeding only on dead wood, or have plantings, such as some roundabouts) to sup-
varyingdegreesofpathogenicity,attackingalso press weeds, reduce compaction and retain
the living sap wood oflive trees (Marks et al. moisture.Woodchipmulchisanexcellentsub-
1982). However, many fungi arising from liv- strate for saprotrophic fungi, including some
ingtreesarenotpathogens,butarewooddecay mushrooms, stinkhorns, birds nest fungi and
fungifeedingonthesubstantialcolumnofdead slime moulds (Table 2). The mycelium of the
heartwoodthatispresentinalivingtree.Thus, fungus grows on and between the wood chips
Laetiporusportentosuscausesbrowncubicalrot and, where wood chips are laid thickly, the
oflivingtrees such as RiverRedGumEucalyp- water retained in the mulch also assists fungal
tuscamaldulensis. growth.Inthefirstyearortwoafterthemulchis
Earthstars such as Geastrum pectinatum and laid,there canbe spectacularfruitings offungi,
G. indicum are common in gardensbuteasyto suchasCoprinellusmicaceus(Fig.9).Overtime,
overlook due to their drab, grey orbrown col- fewerfruit-bodiesareformedasthenutrientsin
oration. There are also numerous less obvious themulchareusedbythefungi.
fungithatgrowonsmallwoodydebrisandleaf Saprotrophicfungi onwood,litterandmulch
litter, particularly among the paint fungi’ that are amixofexotic speciesassociatedwith spe-
form resupinate fruit-bodies closely adhering cific hosts (such as Phaeolus schweinitzii on
tothesubstrate.Whendeadbranchesareleftin pine), native species, and cosmopolitan spe-
adensepileforacoupleofyears,therewillbea cies. Native species are often found on native
varietyoffungiingenerasuchasHyphodontia, hosts: Mycena viscidocruenta has a strong
aslongasthereissomemoisturepresent.There preference for eucalypt litter; Mycena nargan
is a range ofmacroscopic structure amongthe is often found on eucalypt sleepers; and M.
‘paintfungi’withvariationin colourandinthe clarkeana occurs on dead Banksia or at the
fine structure of the surface (pored, spined. base ofMelaleuca planted as street trees (front
Voll28 (5) 2011 189
Contributions
Table2.SomefungiobservedingardenbedsinMel- At least a dozen species of Agaricus occur
bourneparksandgardens,particularlyonoramongst in Melbourne, and in some years can be very
wood-chipmulch. numerous, not only in lawns, but also on bare
Mushrooms ground and among.st litter under planted Aca-
Agrocybepraecoxgroup cia and Eucalyptus. Species include; Agaricus
Chlorophyllum brunneum[alsoingardenbedswith- bitorquis (particularly in compacted soil or
outwood-chips,preferringratherdrysites, pushingupthroughasphaltsuchasincarparks
suchasbeneathCupressus] or paths), A. campestris (the true Field Mush-
CoprincUusmicaceus
Coprinopsisatramentaria room), A. arvensis (Horse Mushroom) and A.
Gymnopilmdilepis augustus.
Lacrymariaasperospora [alsoinlawnsandgravel ManyMelbourniansexpecttocollecttheField
drives] Mushroom Agaricus campestris in autumn, of-
Lemtiomycesceres(=Strophariaaurantiaca)
Leucoagaricusleucothites [morecommoningarden ten due to childhood experiences ofcollecting
bedsamongstlitterthanstrictlyonwoodchip mushrooms in farm paddocks. The mushroom
mulch] mostcommoninpaddocksseemstobethelarge
Parasolaplicatilis Horse Mushroom Agaricus arvensis. Unfortu-
Pluteuscervinusgroup
Psilocyhecrobula nately, in urban areas the toxic Yellow Stainer
Psilocybesubaeruginosa Agaricus xanthodermus is very prevalent, and
Volvariellagloiocephala(=V.speciosa) other edible species ofAgaricus, especially A.
BirdsNestFungi campestris, are comparatively less common.
Cyathusolla Tliis is possibly due to different species having
Sphaerobolusstellatus preferences fordifferent levels ofsoil nutrients,
Stinkhorns such as nitrogen, and thenutrientlevels having
Anthurusarcheri
Aseroerubra
IleodictyoncibariumandIleodictyongracile
Slimemoulds
Fuligoseptica
cover). The lack ofearly collections makes de-
termination ofthe biostatus (as native or exot-
ic) difficult, particularlyforwidespread species
thatfavourdisturbedground, suchas Coprinus
comatus (Fig. 5). One obviously introduced
exotic fungus is Favolaschia calocera, whose
bright orange, massed fruit-bodies were first
sightedin2005inWilson ReserveinIvanhoe.
Fungiinlawns
Fungi growing in lawns well away from trees
and shrubs are mostly saprotrophs that break
downdeadgrassororganicmatterintheupper
layerofthesoil(Table3). Mostaremushrooms
that are short-lived and relatively small (such
as Bolbitius vitellinus), although massed fruit-
ings ofAgaricus xanthodermus and other spe-
cies ofAgaricus and Lepista may occur briefly
in autumn. Some species, such as Panaeolina
foenisecii, also produce fruit-bodies in warmer
months, ifthereissuitablerain. Fig 5. Coprinus comatus, a common saprotrophic
mushroominlawnsandondisturbedground.
190 TheVictorianNaturalist
Contributions
Table3. SomefungigrowinginlawnsinMelbourne Table4.Someexoticectomycorrhizalfungiassociated
parksandgardens. withexotictreesinMelbourneparksandgardens.
Mushrooms Fungus Associatedtree
Agaricusarvensis
Agaricusxanthodermus Mushrooms
Bolbitiusvitellinus Amanitamuscaria PinePinus,OakQuer-
Coprinuscomatus cusorBirchBetula
Lepistaluscina Amanitaphalloides OakQuercus
Marasmiusoreades Hebelomacrustuliniforme BirchBetula
Panaeolinafoenisecii Laccarialaccata OakQuercus
Psathyrellacandolleanagroup Laccariatortilis BirchBetula
Lactariusdeliciosus PinePinus
Puffballs Lactariusnecator BirchBetula
Vascellumpratense Lactariustorminosus BirchBetula
Paxillusinvolutus BirchBetula
Russulaintegra PinePinus
changedovertime,especiallybecausehorsesare Russulasororia OakQuercus
nolongerusedfortransport.
Lawn fungi observed in Melbourne are all BLoelcectiensumscabrum BirchBetula
cosmopolitan, and are likely to have been in- Suillusspecies PinePinus
troducedtoAustralia.Thepossibilitythatsome suchasSuillusluteus
occurnaturallyinindigenousgrasslandhasnot Xerocomuschrysenteron OakQuercus
been investigated. Fungi of such grasslands,
which arehighlythreatenedandmuchreduced Theidentificationofmanyofthefungiassoci-
inarea,areverypoorlyknown. atedwithexotictreesneedstobechecked,since
Saprotrophic fungi in lawns (such as Maras- some ofthe names are used in a broad sense,
mius oreades) often form fairy rings (Fig. 6), andrecentrevisions showcryptic speciesto be
where there is a ring offruit bodies associated present in thepresumed areaoforigin. Forex-
with an enhanced growth ofgrass around the ample, Paxillus involutus encompasses at least
ring, and sometimes inside as well. The ring four distinct species that can be distinguished
is formed by regular outward growth from an byDNAsequencedataandalsohostpreference
initialsmallmyceliumthatproceedsataneven and subtle morphological characters (Hedh et
rate in all directions from oneyearto the next al. 2008). Inaddition, ectomycorrhizalfungiof
asthemyceliumexhausts nutrientsin theinte- exotic trees in Melbourne have not been fully
riorofthering. surveyed, and there are certainly more species
to berecorded, suchas amongthe several uni-
Ectomycorrhizalfungiassociatedwithshrubs
dentifiedspeciesofCortinariusassociatedwith
andtrees
oak in the Royal Botanic Gardens, and in gen-
Ectomycorrhizal fungi form a mutually ben- erasuchasHebelomaandInocybe.
eficial relationship with shrubs and trees from The species of exotic ectomycorrhizal fungi
manyplantfamilies,especiallyintheMyrtaceae
associatedwith each host are a small subset of
andFagaceae. Themyceliumisintimatelyasso- thosespeciesgrowingwiththehostintheirna-
ciatedwiththefine roots oftheplanthost, and
tive environment. The particular species that
there is an exchange ofnutrients. Fruit-bodies occur in Melbourne will have resulted from a
ofectomycorrhizal fungiusuallyoccurdirectly
combination of chance events that led to in-
under or very near to the canopy ofthe host
troduction (such as in potted seedlings, with
tree. Some ectomycorrhizal fungi have broad
host ranges, but many form associations only soil, in the days before strict quarantine) and
favourable climate and soil, matching that in
with particular families or genera of plants.
Some of the more common exotic ectomyc- thecountryoforigin.
The date ofintroduction ofthese ectomycor-
orrhizal fungi found in Melbourne, and their
rhizal fungi is difficult to establish due to the
hosts,arelistedinTable4.
paucity of collections from the 19th century
Voll28 (5) 2011 191
Contributions
Fig.6.Marasmiusoreadesfruit-bodiesinfairyring,associatedwithenhancedgrowthofgrass.
and early 20th century. Even for a distinctive fungi are associated with remnant vegetation,
fungus such as Amanita muscaria that was as saprotrophs (Table 5), parasites and mycor-
recorded from Melbourne bythe 1940s (Cole- rhizalpartners (Table6).
man 1945), the earliest herbarium specimen TheverylargeboletePhlebopusmarginatusisa
was collected much later than the time offirst strikingsightanywhere,andpersistswith rem-
noticeintheliterature, in 1964. nant Eucalyptus, in suburbs such as Blackburn
Native ectomycorrhizal fungi also associate (even pushing aside fence palings as it grows
with planted Australian native trees such as from sturdy button to fully expanded fruit-
Eucalyptus,Lophostemon andMelaleuca. Com- body). Vegetable caterpillars such as Cordyceps
pared to the numerous native ectomycorrhizal gunnii have been recorded in suburbs such as
fungi in intact vegetation, only a small subset Doncaster, Kew and Warrandyte—their per-
of species occurs with planted native trees in sistence will depend on survival oftheir hosts,
parks and gardens, particularly species ofLac- the larvae ofghost moths that feed on wattle
caria and the closely related truffle Hydnan- roots. TrufflessuchasProtoglossum luteumand
gium carneum, and several other truffles such Zelleromyces australiensis persist in bushland
asDescomyces albellus, and species ofearthball reserves. They are mycorrhizal and also food
(Scleroderma). for small mammals, which dig up the fruit-
bodiesandhencedispersethespores.However,
Fungiinbushlandremnants
many small mammals are extinct within Mel-
Within greater Melbourne, often embedded in bourne. Howthelossofthesedispersersaffects
highly urbanised areas, are numerous patches
ofremnantnativevegetation.Thesepatchesare the fungi is unknown. Other interesting urban
macrofungi include outlying occurrences of
ofvarious sizes and in various states ofdistur-
fungi typical of the more arid interior of the
bance in terms ofdiversity ofnative plants re-
maining and factors such as weediness. As de- continent, such as Battarrea stevenii, recorded
in the 19th century from Altona and in recent
scribedaboveforparksandgardens,numerous
192 TheVictorianNaturalist