A New Coelomycete Genus Setolibertella and Two New Species from the Azores

Abstract

The collections described in this paper were obtained as part of a general mycological investigation of the Azores archipelago undertaken by BMS and G. B. Butterfill (Kew) during two visits to the Islands in April May 1995 and October November 1996. They form part of a larger collection of fungi which are currently under study. The Azores archipelago lies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge some 1250 km west of the nearest part of Europe. It is tertiary in age and comprises nine main islands which are volcanic in origin and were never connected to any land mass. Since colonisation by European settlers during the 15th century their wildlife has, inevitably, been greatly influenced by human activity. The native flora, especially, has been and continues to be adversely affected in many areas, sometimes severely so, by the naturalisation and spread of exotic species from many parts of the world able to thrive in the mild, humid climate. This has also had an influence on the mycological composition of the Islands, as indicated by Dennis et al. (1977), some species having inevitably been introduced with their host plants. However, further study is required before the extent of this influence is fully understood. Mycological study of the Azores is comparatively recent in its origins. Earliest contributions date only from 1866 when Drouet (1866) listed 41 lichens and two species referred to the genus Peziza amongst species collected from the Islands in 1857. A review of the main mycological contributions, with lists of species and descriptions of new or additional Azorean fungi, was published (Dennis et al. 1977) following a visit to the Azores by R. W. G. Dennis in 1975. Since then, contributions have been few and a recent bibliography (Spooner & Butterfill 1998) includes just 62 items. Many of these concern plant pathogens and other species of economic importance and coelomycete studies in the Islands have been comparatively few. However, 53 species of coelomycetes were listed by Dennis et al. (1977), including 7