Morphological studies of Ganoderma (Ganodermataceae) from the Australasian and Pacific regions

Abstract

Ganoderma, a genus of approximately 214 described species has been deemed to be in taxonomic chaos. The difficulties stem from the large numbers of synonymies, widespread misuse of names, typification problems and a paucity of reliable morphological characters. In Australia, all of these problems are represented and the genus is in need of revision. In this study six species of Ganoderma were identified among several collections. A new species, G. steyaertanum sp. nov., is described from Australian and Indonesian material. This species has been commonly mistaken for G. lucidum, a species which is probably restricted to Europe and from which G. steyaertanum is genetically distinct. The remaining species were determined to be G. boninense, G. cupreum, G. incrassatum (a name which has not recently featured in literature), G. australe and G. weberianum. All were verified against type material except G. australe, which is in need of neotypification as the type is lost. G. tornatum, a widely accepted synonym, may take precedence; however, we have been unable to examine the type for verification. Based on morphology, G. polymorphum was identified as a synonym of G. cupreum. On the basis of morphology and previously published rDNA sequence studies, G. microsporum was considered a synonym of G. weberianum. A seventh species, G. colossum, has also been reported from Australia; however the specimen was not available for verification in this study.