Phallus aureus
Phallus aureus S.M. Tang & S.H. Li
MycoBank: MB 844523
Immature basidiomata globose to subglobose, 70 × 67 mm, yellowish white (2A2) to pale yellow
(2A3), clear rugose on the surface, attached to the substrate by white (2A1) to yellowish grey (2B2) rhizomorphs.Exoperidium membranous; endoperidium gelatinous, hyaline. Expanded basidiomata up to 220 mm high when fresh. Receptacle 49–73 mm high, 43–72 mm broad, campanulate, pale yellow (2A3) to yellowish white (2A2), rugose. Gleba olive brown (4F5-6), mucilaginous. Pseudostipe subcylindrical, constricted at apex, enlarged downwards, 140–218 mm high when mature, 18–22/30–28/39–51 mm broad (apex/middle/base), pale yellow (2A3) at the base, upward becoming light yellow (3A5), spongiform, hollow. Volva globose or slightly obovate, 68–81 mm high, 50–69 mm broad, rugose, light grey (1C1) to grey (1D1). Indusium well-developed, almost touching ground, orange yellow (4B8), 113–142 mm in length, attached to the apex of pseudostipe, with polygonal to irregular meshes; meshes 2–21 mm wide, 1–4 mm thick. Rhizomorphs simple, white (2A1), 2–4 mm thick, about 35 mm long. Odour and taste unknown. Basidiospores (2.2–) 2.5–3.7 (–3.9) × (1.2–) 1.3–2.0 (–2.3) μm, Q=(1.6–) 1.8–2.0, cylindrical to long ellipsoid, hyaline, thin-walled, smooth under light microscope. Hyphae of pseudostipe and indusium thin-walled, pseudoparenchymatic, consisting of globose to subglobose or irregularly globose cells up to 21–45 μm in diam. Hyphae of volva tubular, 2–8 μm wide, thin walled, smooth. Hyphae of rhizomorphs filamentous, up to 8.0 μm in diam, thin-walled, smooth, septate, rarely branched.
Habitat and distribution: Solitary or scattered on soil with decaying litter under Fargesia spathacea forest. So far known only from Yunnan Province, China. Season: July to August.
Additional specimen examined: CHINA. Yunnan Province, Zhaotong city, Xiaocaoba county, Ao Chengce 10 July (L7005); same location, Tang Songming 10 July (L7006); same location, Ao Chengce 14 August (L7011); Wang li 14 August (L7012).
Notes: Phallus aureus was collected from a subtropical Fargesia spathacea forest in China. It is characterized by its clear rugose and light grey to grey on the immature basidiomata surface, pseudostipe pale yellow at the base, becoming light yellow upwards, and cylindrical to long ellipsoid basidiospores (2.5–3.7 × 1.3–2.0 μm). Phylogenetically, P. aureus is sister to P. rubicundus, P. campanulatus Berk. and P. rugulosus (E. Fisch.) Lloyd. However, P. rubicundus lacks indusium and has a smooth and white volva (Cortez & Silva-Filho 2017). Phallus campanulatus has been re-described by Cortez et al (2019), it is the receptacle with a conspicuously cogged margin and absent indusium, whitish pseudostipe (Cortez et al. 2011, 2019). Phallus rugulosus has a white volva and pale red to red pseudostipe (Lloyd 1908), Morphologically, P. cinnabarinus (W.S.Lee) Kreisel (1996: 278), P. flavidus Kreisel & Hauskn. (2009: 18), P. haitangensis H. Li Li, P.E. Mortimer, J.C. Xu & K.D. Hyde (2016: 120), P. luteus (Liou & L. Hwang) T. Kasuya (2008:2009), P. lutescens T.H. Li, T. Li & W.Q. Deng (2020:30), P. multicolor (Berk. & Broome) Cooke (1882: 57) and P. nanchangensis Z.Z. He (1989: 98) can be confused with P. aureus due to their coloured indusium. However, P. luteus (Kasuya 2008), P. cinnabarinus (Hawkeswood & Sommun 2019), P. lutescens (Li et al. 2020) and P. haitangensis (Li et al. 2016) have a white to cream-white pseudostipe. The indusium of P. nanchangensis is shorter (1/4 or 1/3 of the pseudostipe) and volva white, reddish to pale red (Li et al. 2020). Phallus multicolor was originally described from Queensland (Australia), and its lemon yellow indusium usually hangs down less than 1/2 of pseudostipe length (Brekelely & Broome 1883, Cunningham 1994, Reid 1977, Li et al. 2020). Phallus flavidus originally described from Africa, has small basidiomata (50–80 mm high), a light grey volva, and grassland habitat (Kreisel & Hausknecht 2009).
Fig. 1 The original tree generated by Maximum Likelihood algorithm of P. aureus and its relatives using ITS1+ITS1 and 5.8 S sequence data with Mutinus zenkeri as an outgroup. Bayesian Posterior Probability (PP) ≥ 0.95 and Bootstrap Support (BS) values ≥ 70% are indicated at the nodes. New species are marked in red. Holotype specimens are in bold black.
Fig. 2 Basidiomata of Phallus aureus. a-c: Immature basidiomata (L7005). g: Young basidiomata (L7006). h: Rhizomorphs (L7006). i: Gleba (L7006). j: Pseudostipe (L7010). k: Indusium (L7010). l-m: Expanded basidiomata of L7010 (Holotype) and L7011. Bar=1 cm.
Fig. 3 Microscopic features of Phallus aureus. a. Basidiospores. b. Pseudoparenchymatous hyphae from pseudostipe. c. Hyphae from volva. d. Rhizomorph hyphae. e. Crystals in volva hyphae. Bars=10 μm.
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