Fungi isolated from stained wood associated with bark beetle galleries in timber trees in New Zealand, Norway and Western Canada

Abstract

Fungi isolated from stained wood, mostly coniferous and recently attacked by bark beetles, in New Zealand, Norway, Western Canada, and the U. S.A. were grown in culture under prescribed conditions to determine their specific characteristics and taxonomic relationships. The study resulted in the preparation of detailed descriptions of 36 taxa which represent species of the genera Acremonium, Aphanocladium, Beauveria, Chalara, Dipodascus, Engyodontium, Gliocladium, Graphium, Hyalodendron, Hyalopesotum, Hyalorhinocladiella, Leptodontidium, Mariannaea, Monocillium, Phaeoisaria, Phialographium, Phialophora, Pitomyces, Rhinocladiella, Verticillium, Volutella, and taxonomic genus 1. Of these, nine are proposed as new, and are to be found in Acremonium, Beauveria, Gliocladium, Graphium, Hyalopesotum (synanamorph Hyalorhinocladiella), Monocillium, Phialographium (synanamorph Phialophora), and one for which the new genus will be erected. In addition, to accommodate one of these species, the genus Erostella was re-established, and its type, E. minima, and the only other previously described species, E. fraxinopennsylvanica, were included for comparison with E. novae-zelandiae sp. nov. prop. Wood-staining fungi, especially members of the Ophistomatales and their anamorphs, many of which cause blueing of the sapwood of economically important timber trees, have been the subject of numerous studies. However, other fungi which occur in association with the wood-staining organisms in and around bark beetle galleries have largely been ignored, especially if they are non-staining. This investigation sought at least partially to redress this neglect. This study is a taxonomic investigation of various fungi from the bark beetle galleries. Its aim was to identify the more poorly known entities and thus add information as to the nature of the bark beetle-host tree-microorganism ecosystem.