The taxonomy of the genus Hysterangium (Basidiomycotina, Hysterangiaceae) with notes on its ecology

Graduation date: 1990Hysterangium, a genus of hypogeous Basidiomycotina (false truffles) is\ud commonly placed in the Hysterangiaceae and ascribed affinities to the Phallales. It\ud is a large genus among hypogeous taxa and is commonly collected in large\ud numbers in eastern and western North America, Australasia and Europe. Some\ud Hysterangium species are dominant components of the below-ground mycorrhizal\ud network of Douglas-fir forests in the Pacific Northwest and Eucalyptus forests and\ud plantations in Australia and New Zealand.\ud Sixty-eight species and nine varietal names have been proposed within\ud Hysterangium. This work conserves 25 species names and raises two varieties to\ud species rank. Thirteen species and 7 varietal names are synonomized, and\ud eighteen other species names are transferred to 9 other genera. Placement of an\ud additional 8 species excluded from Hysterangium is uncertain. One species was\ud based on nonsporocarpic material, while no specimens of 3 other species could be\ud located. Eleven new species are provisionally proposed.\ud The scope of this work is worldwide, with a focus on taxonomy and to a\ud limited extent ecology. Due to the pervasiveness of many Hysterangium species in\ud a number of forest communities a better understanding of the taxonomy of\ud Hysterangium has considerable ecological importance