Ethnobotanical knowledge and socioeconomic potential of honey wine in the Horn of Africa

299-303The traditional honey wine is a ceremonial drink made locally in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The drink is known as Tej in Amharic (a widely spoken language in Ethiopia) and Mess in Tigrigna (a widely spoken language in Eritrea). It is consumed mostly during social and religious ceremonies, albeit sold in honey wine bars. It is easy to prepare with varied tastes by local people from its main components; honey, chopped stems of Rhamnus prinoides or roots of R. staddo and water. Honey and the shrubs used for the preparation of the wine are recognized for their medicinal importance worldwide. Particularly, after the isolation of geshoidin, a bitter glycoside from R. prinoides, that is currently being investigated for its role in providing novel-pharmacological leads for Alzheimer’s treatment. On the other hand, R. staddo has been investigated for potential antimalarial candidate. These with other beneficial metabolites from the shrubs call for a wider investigation into the medicinal benefits of the honey wine. Furthermore, considering its declining consumption, limited efforts to preserve the indigenous knowledge of preparing the drink and lack of adequate promotion, further research is needed to lead into the sustainability of drink for generations and its global usage

A report on diversity and distribution of macrofungi in the Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India

We report mycodiversity of the different forest types of the Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India. The results drawn here are based on the study carried out in the different forest sites of the Garhwal Himalaya during the rainy season from 2013 to 2015. We collected a total of 323 specimens, including 310 specimens belonging to Basidiomycota and 13 to Ascomycota. Furthermore, 212 specimens of Basidiomycota were identified and grouped into 33 families, 75 genera and 198 species, while 13 specimens of Ascomycota were grouped into 7 families, 7 genera and 11 species. 127 species were found in oak dominated temperate broadleaved forest, while 42 were collected from coniferous and 19 from the mixed woodland composed mainly of Quercus, Myrica, Rhododendron and Pinus trees in middle to higher hills, and Shorea robusta and Tectona grandis in the dipterocarp forests of lower hills. In terms of fungal species distribution in these forests, Amanitaceae, Russulaceae and Boletaceae were found most dominant in oak dominated forests, whereas Tricholomataceae and Cantharellaceae were commonly found in Pinus and Cedrus dominated forests and those belonging to family Cortinariaceae – in mixed forests. Species belonging to the families Agaricaceae, Amanitaceae and Tricholomataceae were found dominant in dipterocarp forest in the lower Himalayan region. The majority of species belonging to all families were found near lower to mid range altitude, which may result from the overlapping effect of atmospheric temperature and climate. The members of seven families, i.e., Russulaceae, Amanitaceae, Tricholomataceae, Boletaceae, Cantharellaceae, Cortinariaceae and Gomphaceae, were found as main ectomycorrhizal forming species from the elevation range of 500-2800 m a.s.l., in all four forest types

A Glimpse of Ethiopian Birds

52-54Ethopia boasts of a wide variety of bird life

A survey of macrofungal diversity in the Bharsar region, Uttarakhand Himalaya, India

A survey of wild macrofungi associated with temperate evergreen forests of the Bharsar region of the Pauri Garhwal district, Uttarakhand, India, yielded specimens of 12 different species representing 10 genera. During the field work, we also collected several fruiting bodies unique to their respective genera. These included (1) a fruiting body with a small cap and long slender stipe belonging to the group of species within the genus Lactarius (subgenus Russularia) characterized by a rusty red cap and white latex; (2) a tall species of Hebeloma with a veil and thin crowded gills, and (3) a species of Hygrocybe that stains black. Owing to their special characteristic features, the specimens of Lactarius and Hebeloma are likely to be species new to science, but this requires further investigation. In addition, nine other taxa are briefly described herein, with their major macroscopic features noted. This is the first report of the macrofungal wealth from this diverse forest of the Bharsar region in the Uttarakhand Himalaya, India. Keywords: Basidiomycota, Diversity, Higher fungi, Northern India, Uttarakhan

Fungal planet description sheets : 1042-1111

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Antarctica, Cladosporium arenosum from marine sediment sand. Argentina, Kosmimatamyces alatophylus (incl. Kosmimatamyces gen. nov.) from soil. Australia, Aspergillus banksianus, Aspergillus kumbius, Aspergillus luteorubrus, Aspergillus malvicolor and Aspergillus nanangensis from soil, Erysiphe medicaginis from leaves of Medicago polymorpha, Hymenotorrendiella communis on leaf litter of Eucalyptus bicostata, Lactifluus albopicri and Lactifluus austropiperatus on soil, Macalpinomyces collinsiae on Eriachne benthamii, Marasmius vagus on soil, Microdochium dawsoniorum from leaves of Sporobolus natalensis, Neopestalotiopsis nebuloides from leaves of Sporobolus elongatus, Pestalotiopsis etonensis from leaves of Sporobolus jacquemontii, Phytophthora personensis from soil associated with dying Grevillea mccutcheonii. Brazil, Aspergillus oxumiae from soil, Calvatia baixaverdensis on soil, Geastrum calycicoriaceum on leaf litter, Greeneria kielmeyerae on leaf spots of Kielmeyera coriacea. Chile, Phytophthora aysenensis on collar rot and stem of Aristotelia chilensis. Croatia, Mollisia gibbospora on fallen branch of Fagus sylvatica. Czech Republic, Neosetophoma hnaniceana from Buxus sempervirens. Ecuador, Exophiala frigidotolerans from soil. Estonia, Elaphomyces bucholtzii in soil. France, Venturia paralias from leaves of Euphorbia paralias. India, Cortinarius balteatoindicus and Cortinarius ulkhagarhiensis on leaf litter. Indonesia, Hymenotorrendiella indonesiana on Eucalyptus urophylla leaf litter. Italy, Penicillium taurinense from indoor chestnut mill. Malaysia, Hemileucoglossum kelabitense on soil, Satchmopsis pini on dead needles of Pinus tecunumanii. Poland, Lecanicillium praecognitum on insects’ frass. Portugal, Neodevriesia aestuarina from saline water. Republic of Korea, Gongronella namwonensis from freshwater. Russia, Candida pellucida from Exomias pellucidus, Heterocephalacria septentrionalis as endophyte from Cladonia rangiferina, Vishniacozyma phoenicis from dates fruit, Volvariella paludosa from swamp. Slovenia, Mallocybe crassivelata on soil. South Africa, Beltraniella podocarpi, Hamatocanthoscypha podocarpi, Coleophoma podocarpi and Nothoseiridium podocarpi (incl. Nothoseiridium gen. nov.) from leaves of Podocarpus latifolius, Gyrothrix encephalarti from leaves of Encephalartos sp., Paraphyton cutaneum from skin of human patient, Phacidiella alsophilae from leaves of Alsophila capensis, and Satchmopsis metrosideri on leaf litter of Metrosideros excelsa. Spain, Cladophialophora cabanerensis from soil, Cortinarius paezii on soil, Cylindrium magnoliae from leaves of Magnolia grandiflora, Trichophoma cylindrospora (incl. Trichophoma gen. nov.) from plant debris, Tuber alcaracense in calcareus soil, Tuber buendiae in calcareus soil. Thailand, Annulohypoxylon spougei on corticated wood, Poaceascoma filiforme from leaves of unknown Poaceae. UK, Dendrostoma luteum on branch lesions of Castanea sativa, Ypsilina buttingtonensis from heartwood of Quercus sp. Ukraine, Myrmecridium phragmiticola from leaves of Phragmites australis. USA, Absidia pararepens from air, Juncomyces californiensis (incl. Juncomyces gen. nov.) from leaves of Juncus effusus, Montagnula cylindrospora from a human skin sample, Muriphila oklahomaensis (incl. Muriphila gen. nov.) on outside wall of alcohol distillery, Neofabraea eucalyptorum from leaves of Eucalyptus macrandra, Diabolocovidia claustri (incl. Diabolocovidia gen. nov.) from leaves of Serenoa repens, Paecilomyces penicilliformis from air, Pseudopezicula betulae from leaves of leaf spots of Populus tremuloides. Vietnam, Diaporthe durionigena on branches of Durio zibethinus and Roridomyces pseudoirritans on rotten wood. Morphological and culture characteristics are supported by DNA barcodes

Fungal Systematics and Evolution: FUSE 5

Thirteen new species are formally described: Cortinarius brunneocarpus from Pakistan, C. lilacinoarmillatus from India, Curvularia khuzestanica on Atriplex lentiformis from Iran, Gloeocantharellus neoechinosporus from China, Laboulbenia bernaliana on species of Apenes, Apristus, and Philophuga (Coleoptera, Carabidae) from Nicaragua and Panama, L. oioveliicola on Oiovelia inachadoi (Hemiptera,Veliidae) from Brazil, L. termiticola on Macrotermes subhyalinus (Blattodea, Termitidae) from the DR Congo, Pluteus cutefractus from Slovenia, Rhizoglomus variabile from Peru, Russula phloginea from China, Stagonosporopsis flacciduvarum on Vitis vinifera from Italy, Strobilomyces huangshanensis from China, Uroinyces klotzschianus on Rumex dentatus subsp. klotzschianus from Pakistan.The following new records are reported: Alternaria calendulae on Calendula officinalis from India; A. tenuissima on apple and quince fruits from Iran; Candelariella oleaginescens fromTurkey; Didymella americana and D. calidophila on Vitis vinifera from Italy; Lasiodiplodia theobromae causing tip blight of Dianella tasmanica variegata' from India; Marasmiellus subpruinosus from Madeira, Portugal, new for Macaronesia and Africa; Mycena albidolilacea, M. tenuispinosa, and M. xantholeuca from Russia; Neonectria neomacrospora on Madhuca longifolia from India; Nothophoma quercina on Vitis vinifera from Italy; Plagiosphaera immersa on Urtica dioica from Austria; Rinodina sicula from Turkey; Sphaerosporium lignatile from Wisconsin, USA; and Verrucaria murina from Turkey. Multi-locus analysis of ITS, LSU, rpbl,tefl sequences revealed that P immersa, commonly classified within Gnomoniaceae (Diaporthales) or as Sordariomycetes incertae sedis, belongs to Magnaporthaceae (Magnaporthales). Analysis of a six-locus Ascomycota-wide dataset including SS