Ceriporia sordescens Miettinen & Spirin

Miettinen, Otto, Spirin, Viacheslav, Vlasak, Josef, Rivoire, Bernard, Stenroos, Soili & Hibbett, David S., 2016, Polypores and genus concepts in Phanerochaetaceae (Polyporales, Basidiomycota), MycoKeys 17, pp. 1-46 : 31-32

Ceriporia sordescens Miettinen & Spirin sp. nov. Figures 10cand 11f

Holotype.

United States. New York: Essex Co., Huntington Wildlife Forest, Arbutus Lake, 43.9856° : -74.2469°, fallen dicot trunk ( Acer saccharum ?, 50 cm in diameter, decay stage 3/5), 18 Aug 2012, Miettinen 15492.2 (H).

Etymology.

Sordescens (Lat.), becoming dirty-colored, refers to color change upon drying.

Description.

Basidiocarps 0.2-0.5 mm thick, up to 20 cm in the widest dimension. Sterile margin up to 3 mm wide. Pore surface yellowish, in dry specimens pale to dirty ochraceous, in a few portions with pinkish hues, pores 3-4 per mm. Subicular hyphae subparallel, 5-13.6 µm in diameter, some inflated. Tramal hyphae 2.6-4 µm in diameter. Subhymenial hyphae 2.5-4.6 µm in diameter. Basidia 10.1 –18.4×4.1– 5.2 µm. Basidiospores ellipsoid to narrowly ellipsoid, ventral side flat or slightly convex, very rarely slightly concave, (3.2)3.3 –4.2(4.6)×(2.0)2.1– 2.5(2.6) µm, L=3.61 µm, W=2.24 µm, Q=1.61.

Remarks.

Ceriporia sordescens is a close relative of Ceriporia pierii differing by its ochraceous colors and smaller spores. We have studied one morphologically very similar specimen to Ceriporia sordescens from Ontario, Canada identified (incorrectly in our view) as Poria griseoalba by R.F. Cain (H ex TRTC 33465). It may represent yet another species in the Ceriporia pierii group, differing from Ceriporia sordescens mainly by its smaller pores 4-5 per mm, and longer, thick cylindrical spores 4.2 –5.1×2– 2.3 µm (n=30), L=4.54, W=2.15, Q=2.12. Poria griseoalba (Peck) Saccardo was described from Osceola, New York ( Peck 1885) as having small-pored, grayish white basidiocarps, and Lowe (1966) placed it among the synonyms of Poria rhodella Fr. (= Ceriporia viridans s. lato). Even if Lowe’s species concept was probably wider than today, Poria griseoalba belongs in the vicinity of Ceriporia viridans and is clearly not conspecific with Ceriporia sordescens .