The Genus Phaeodaedalea

Abstract

In 1913, Lloyd called attention to a Daedalea, D. sprucei Berk., with colored spores, which according to McGinty should be removed to a new genus, Phaeodaedalea. This epithet is considered as not validly published because, as has been discussed and demonstrated by Donk (1951, 1960), the names given by Lloyd under the nom de plume McGinty were not definitely acceptable to Lloyd himself, the publishing author (Art. 33, International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, 1956). Daedalea sprucei has a highly variable hymenial surface and for this reason has been described as new species under three other genera: Hexagona Fr., Lenzites Fr. and Irpex Fr. The species seems to be inappropriately placed in any of the genera to which it has already been assigned. Macroscopically it looks similar to species of Daedalea Pers. ex Fr., Gloeophyllum Karst. and Xerotus Fr.; however anatomically, discrepancies may be observed in D. sprucei. The type species of Daedalea and of Lenzites possess hyaline, cylindric spores, with thin walls and hyaline skeletal hyphae (at times somewhat fuscescent in Daedalea) whereas Daedalea sprucei has globose to subglobose, brown spores, with a thickened and colored external wall; Hexagona and Gloeophyllum are typified by species with a hyphal system similar to that observed in D. sprucei, but with spores always hyaline, not thickened and cylindric-ellipsoid; the type species of Xerotus has a dimitic hyphal system, with generative and binding hyphae, very different from the trimitic hyphal system of Daedalea sprucei; the type species of Irpex has hyaline spores and hyphae. I conclude that Daedalea sprucei is inappropriate to any of the polyporaceous genera referred to above and I have no alternative but to consider it as a single species of a new genus. The name Phaeodaedalea will be used for this new genus (Art. 72, note of the Code). Several genera of Polyporaceae, mostly created by Murrill and Karsten, have colored spores as one of their characteristics: Amauroderma Murr., Coltricia S. F. Gray, Coltriciella Murr., Cycloporus