NEW FOR UKRAINE SPECIES OF SCUTELLINIA ( PYRONEMATACEAE , PEZIZALES ) FROM THE SVYDOVETS MOUNTAIN RANGE ( CARPATHIAN BIOSPHERE RESERVE )

© V.V. DZHAGAN, Yu.V. SCHERBAKOVA, 2013 Abstract. The article reports on three new for Ukraine records of Scutellinia collected in the Svydovets Mountain Range (Carpathian Biosphere Reserve): S. crinita (Bull.) Lambotte, S. crucipila (Cooke et W. Phillips) J. Moravec, and S. pseudotrechispora (J. Schröt.) Le Gal. Brief descriptions, localities, data on general distribution and original illustrations are provided.

The Svydovets Mountain Range (Rakhiv District, Zakarpatska Region) covers an area of 6580 ha in the highest parts of the Svydovets area (from 600 to 1883 m altitude).It is one of the protected areas of the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve [2].
Different types of beech forest associations (Fageta sylvaticae) are dominant.On the rocky landforms, beechsycamore and beech-ash-sycamore forests (Fageto-Aceretum pseudoplatanae, Fageto-Fraxineto-Aceretum) are also common.On the northern macroslope conditions are favorable for the formation of fir forests (Abieta albae) and near the upper limit of the forest -for the spruce formation (Piceeta abietis).Above the forest belt, there is a subalpine zone where Duschekia viridis (Rupr.)Pouzar and Juniperus sibirica Burgsd.occur [4].
The Svydovets for a long time attracted attention of botanists while mycologically this area is little explored.The first mycological survey in the Svydovets and surrounding regions took place over 70 years ago. A. Pilat [13] has published data about species diversity of Ascomycota and Basidiomycota (19 and 387 species, respectively).
The genus Scutellinia is cosmopolitan.To the naked eye, the species are distinguished by the red or orangered discoid ascocarps, clothed with stiff, brownish or black hairs (setae) along the apothecial rim and on the outside of apothecia [14,15].
On the basis of substrate relations, three ecological groups of Scutellinia are recognized: humus saprotrophs, or soil-inhabiting (utilize soils of various nutritional qua lities), which is the most numerous group; xylosaprotrophs (grow both on deciduous and coniferous wood, and avoid soils as a substrate), and forest saprotrophs (grow on a variety of non-living organic substrates and materials, soils and rotting wood being the usual substrates, including carbobionts and coprobionts) [15,16].
Notes: The fungus is quite common in northern temperate and boreo-alpine regions of Europe [15] as a forest saprotroph on a wide range of substrates, e.g.decaying wood, burnt ground, soils, dung, and plant remnants [15,16].In our opinion, this species is widespread in Ukraine; however, it has been earlier misidentified as a closely related S. scutellata, which has more elongate and coarsely warted ascospores.Notes: The fungus has tentatively been accommodated in a boreo-polar species group [15,16].S. crucipila is a humus saprotroph specialized to clay as well as to humus.It belongs to a group of species characterized by occurring on soils of median pH-values (pH 6-7) and a moderately high content of organic matter (5-15 %) [16].

Scutellinia crucipila (
The species has commonly been treated as a member of Cheilymenia, due to the pale brown hairs, occurrence of stellate excipular hairs, and a loosening perispore of the ascospore wall.The taxon was recently transferred to Scutellinia by Moravec, who placed it in sect.Minutae Svr ek because of the short hairs and the separable, sculptured ascospore wall [15]. Scutellinia pseudotrechispora (J.Schröt.)Le Gal, Bull. trimest. Soc. mycol. Fr. 78: 213 (1962).-Humariella pseudotrechispora J. Schröt., in Cohn, Krypt.-Fl.Schlesien (Breslau) 3.2(1-2): 38 (1893) [1908] (Fig. 3.) Apothecia sessile, solitary, disc-shaped to shallow cupshaped, 1.5-3.0mm diam.Hymenium red to brownish red, margin distinct, outer surface and margin with short, brownish hairs.Ectal exipulum of globose to angular texture, 30-80 µm in diam.Hairs short, up to The species is characterized by its small ascocarps, short, curved hairs, a cristulo-reticulate ornamentation of the ascospores, and an outer wall layer which loosens in heated lactic acid.Because of the similarity of spores, S. pseudotrechispora is commonly either placed in Aleu-ria as A. pseudotrechispora (J.Schröt.)Hohn., or misidentified as Melastiza chateri (W.G.Smith) Boud.Accor ding to Le Gal [15], the ascospore sculpturing in S. pseudotrechispora, as in members of Aleuria and Melastiza, is a result of excretions from sporoplasm vacuoles.This was not accepted by Merkus (1976) who under TEM recognized only one uniform way of the wall sculpture development in this complex of Pyro nemataceae, viz.by an external condensing of epiplasmic material on the primary ascospore wall [15].