Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1991, Qupperneq 74

78
THE FIRST RECORD OF DESCOLEA
Descolea antarctica (JHP-62F) - photo Jens H. Peteren
Sporeprint sordid olivaceous yellow,
slightly more olive than 5B5 but more vi-
vid than 4B5.
Spores limoniform, frequently with long
apical papilla, 11-13.5 x 6-7.5 /tm, yellow-
ish brown, apical area almost smooth and
pale, elsewhere verrucose, dextrinoid re-
action strong. Basidia clavate, 32-40 x 10-
13 jum, 4-spored. Edge sterile, cheilo-
cystidia of variable shape, mostly sphaero-
pedunculate to clavate or utriform, 15-35 x
6-11 jtim, hyaline, densely packed. La-
mellar trama pale brownish. Clamp con-
nections present.
Ecology: Apparently associated with
Nothofagus betuloides and other Notho-
fagus species.
A colour photo of the species in situ will
be published in a coming popular flora on
the fungi of the Faroe Islands.
Material
Faroe Islands: Streymoy: Tórshavn, Viða-
lundin, 6.10.1989, leg. J. H. Petersen
(JHP-62F) - ibid., 10.10.1989 (JHP-138F)
- ibid., 12.10.1989 (JHP-175F).
Discussion
Both macroscopically and microscopically,
the characters of the collections from the
Faroe Islands correspond well to the origi-
nal diagnosis of D. anarctica (Singer 1951).
He describes the pileus as 17-52 mm
broad, the stipe as 29-52 x 5-15 mm, the
spores as 11.5-12.5 x 7.5 jum and the cheil-
ocystidia as 20-42 x 5-7 jxm. However, our
spore measurements do not fully agree
with those given by Horak (1971). He sep-
arates the largespored D. anarctica sp. 12-
15 x 6.5-8.5 jLtm) from the smallspored D.
pallida Horak (sp. 10-13 x 5-6.5 /im),
which he describes as a new species in the
same paper.
According to Horak, D. pallida lacks
cheilocystidia, and as they are present in
D. antarctica, it appears somewhat surpri-
sing that Horak refrains from using this
character when separating these two South
American taxa.
Introduction of Descolea antarctica
to the Faroe Islands
The large majority of the Nothofagus