Checklist of fungi on teatree (Kunzea and Leptospermum species) in New Zealand

Abstract

An annotated list is provided of 450 taxa of fungi (including oomycetes and myxomycetes) that have been recorded in New Zealand in close association with teatree, that is, species of Kunzea and Leptospermum. Nearly all records refer to fungi growing with K. ericoides (kanuka) or L. scoparium (manuka), as ectomycorrhizal mycobionts, endophytes, pathogens, or as saprobes causing decay of wood and leaves. The only records of fungi specific to another taxon are those of the mycorrhizal genus Pisolithus, which grows in association with K. ericoides var. microflora in the central North Island thermal areas. The list has been compiled from data associated with specimens held in the New Zealand Fungal Herbarium (PDD) and in Herbarium NZ‐FRI‐M, and from the literature. Comments on the distribution of individual fungi within New Zealand, or on the occurrence of fungi on other plant substrata in New Zealand, are supported by information in the New Zealand Fungi website. Communities dominated by teatree are a widespread conservation resource, and an important habitat for New Zealand fungi, especially native species of ectomycorrhizal fungi. One hundred species of fungi have been described with teatree as the substrate for the type specimen. This figure is made up of 11 Ascomycota, 59 Agaricales, 20 Aphyllophorales, and 10 anamorphic taxa.