Research Article Some New Records of Stinkhorns...

Research ArticleSome New Records of Stinkhorns (Phallaceae) fromHollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary Assam India

Girish Gogoi and Vipin Parkash

Rain Forest Research Institute AT Road Sotai Post Box No 136 Jorhat Assam 785001 India

Correspondence should be addressed to Girish Gogoi gogoigicfreorg

Received 11 October 2013 Revised 28 December 2013 Accepted 3 February 2014 Published 17 March 2014

Academic Editor Leo Van Griensven

Copyright copy 2014 G Gogoi and V Parkash This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons AttributionLicense which permits unrestricted use distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properlycited

This research paper represents for the first time an updated list of stinkhorn family Phallaceae in Hollongapar Gibbon WildlifeSanctuary Jorhat Assam India There are seven species of stinkhorns naturally present in the study area A description of all thespecies is given along with images of fruiting bodies of the fungi and their microstructures information on the ecology and generaldistribution and data on the literature have been documented The seven species of stinkhorns were found in and around area ofthe sanctuary which include Phallus indusiatus Phallus duplicatus Phallus cinnabarinus Phallus merulinus Phallus atrovolvatusMutinus bambusinus and Clathrus delicatus

1 Introduction

Fungi are some of themost important organisms in theworldbecause of their vital role in ecosystem function and influenceon humans and human-related activities as discussed byMueller and Bills [1] Fungi are not only beautiful but play asignificant role in the daily life of human beings besides theirutilization in industry agriculture andmedicine as discussedby Cowan [2] and Chang andMiles [3] Moreover fungi helpin bioremediation in recycling nutrients and in decompos-ing the dead organic matter in soil and litter as biofertilizersand inmany other ways (Gadd [4]) It is necessary to estimatethe taxonomic diversity for fungi that will enable fungi tobe included in considerations of biodiversity conservationand land-use planning and management as discussed byMueller and Schmit [5] The number of fungi recorded inIndia exceeds 27000 species the largest biotic communityafter insects (Sarbhoy et al [6]) Recent estimates of the globalspecies numbers of fungi suggest that the much-used figureof 15 million is low and figures up to 51 million have beenproposed in the last few years (Hawksworth [7]) The litera-ture survey revealed that only a fraction of total fungal wealthhas been subjected to scientific scrutiny till date The first liston Indian fungi was published by Butler and Bisby in 1931 [8]and then later on revised by Vasudeva in 1960 [8] In North

East India as a part of Indo Burma biodiversity hotspot [9] ofthe world few number of wild edible macrofungi have beenreported by Sarma et al [10] Tanti et al [11] Khaund andJoshi [12] Baruah et al [13] andN I Sing and SM Sing [14]

The stinkhorns are easily identified due to their fetidsmelling sticky spore masses or gleba borne on the endof a stalk called the receptaculum or cap The characteristicfruiting-body structure a single unbranched receptaculumwith an externally attached gleba on the upper part distin-guishes the Phallaceae fromother families in the Phallales Asdiscussed by Tuno [15] stinkhorns are short-lived typicallylasting not more than a few days The spore mass typicallysmells of carrion or dung and attracts flies and other insectsto help disperse the spores All species under this familybegin their development as oval or round structures known asldquoeggsrdquo (young stage of basidiocarp) however their developedstructures show drastic variations in pattern and color as dis-cussed by Mohanan [16] Similarly the structure and color ofgleba also differ from one another According to an estimatethe family comprises 21 genera and 77 species (Kirk et al [17])

2 Materials and Methods

21 Study Area Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary(HGWLS) (Figure 1) more popularly known as Gibbon

Hindawi Publishing CorporationJournal of MycologyVolume 2014 Article ID 490847 8 pageshttpdxdoiorg1011552014490847

2 Journal of Mycology

Table 1 Compartment wise distribution of stinkhorns in the Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary

Sl number Name of Stinkhorn species Number of fruit bodies in each compartment Total number CountComp1 Comp2 Comp3 Comp4 Comp5

I P indusiatus mdash 20 10 10 mdash 40 3II P duplicatus mdash 9 mdash mdash 6 15 2III P cinnabarinus mdash 4 1 mdash mdash 5 2IV P merulinus 3 2 mdash mdash 1 6 3V P atrovolvatus mdash 4 mdash mdash mdash 4 1VI M bambusinus 8 25 15 12 15 75 5VII C delicatus mdash 2 mdash mdash mdash 2 1

Total number 11 66 26 22 22 147Count 2 7 3 3 3

Size of Comp in km2 2 698 5 4 3 2098Numbers of Transects 4 14 10 8 6 42

Note Comp compartment km2 kilometers square

Sanctuary boundarySanctuary compartmentSanctuary drainageBhogdoi River

Railway trackPlacesRoad

0 05 1 2

(km)

N

94∘169984000998400998400E

94∘1699840030998400998400E

94∘179984000998400998400E

94∘1799840030998400998400E

94∘189984000998400998400E

94∘1899840030998400998400E

94∘199984000998400998400E

94∘1999840030998400998400E

94∘209984000998400998400E

94∘2099840030998400998400E

94∘219984000998400998400E

94∘2199840030998400998400E

94∘229984000998400998400E

94∘2299840030998400998400E

94∘239984000998400998400E

94∘2399840030998400998400E

94∘249984000998400998400E

94∘169984000998400998400E

94∘1699840030998400998400E

94∘179984000998400998400E

94∘1799840030998400998400E

94∘189984000998400998400E

94∘1899840030998400998400E

94∘199984000998400998400E

94∘1999840030998400998400E

94∘209984000998400998400E

94∘2099840030998400998400E

94∘219984000998400998400E

94∘2199840030998400998400E

94∘229984000998400998400E

94∘2299840030998400998400E

94∘239984000998400998400E

94∘2399840030998400998400E

94∘249984000998400998400E

26∘44

9984000998400998400N

26∘43

99840030

998400998400N

26∘43

9984000998400998400N

26∘42

99840030

998400998400N

26∘42

9984000998400998400N

26∘41

99840030

998400998400N

26∘41

9984000998400998400N

26∘40

99840030

998400998400N

26∘40

9984000998400998400N

26∘39

99840030

998400998400N

26∘39

9984000998400998400N

26∘44

9984000998400998400N

26∘43

99840030

998400998400N

26∘43

9984000998400998400N

26∘42

99840030

998400998400N

26∘42

9984000998400998400N

26∘41

99840030

998400998400N

26∘41

9984000998400998400N

26∘40

99840030

998400998400N

26∘40

9984000998400998400N

26∘39

99840030

998400998400N

26∘39

9984000998400998400N

Figure 1 Map of study site within red boundary line

Wildlife Sanctuary lies between 2640ndash2645∘N latitude and9418ndash9423∘E longitude and it covers an area of 2098 km2The sanctuary is situated at 100ndash130m asl (meters abovesea level) and the average annual rainfall is 249 cm It is inthe tract of rich loamy alluvial formation in the foothills ofNagaland having soil pH ranging between 52 and 55 Theforest of the area as per Champion and Seth [18] is AssamPlain Alluvial Semi Evergreen Forest with pockets of WetEvergreenThe vegetation is typically a tree forest mixed withbamboos and canes

22 Collection Preservation and Examination GibbonWildlife Sanctuary is composed of five compartments(Figure 1) and these compartments are not only different in

size but also different in vegetation composition topographyand soil nutrients The size of compartments is given inTable 1 Stratified random sampling technique is used tocollect data from different compartments of the sanctuaryA total of 42 transects have been studied in the sanctuarymeasuring 50m times 20m for each transect and consideringtwo transects for 1 km square area The total number of fruitbodies in each compartment as well as in the whole sanctuaryhas been extrapolated with the help of data collected fromdifferent transects (Table 1)

The sampling and collections of stinkhorns were donefrom April 2012 to September 2013 as suggested by Largent[19] Field characters such as habit habitat odour colourand size of the pileus (cap) veil stipe and volva presenceor absence of indusium or veil and so forth were noted fromthe fresh material and photographs were taken in its naturalhabitat The colour terminology was used for identificationas suggested by Kornerup andWanscher [20]The specimenswere dried in hot air oven at 40ndash50∘C and stored in airtight plastic containers with some naphthalene balls andthe samples of the same species were also preserved inFAA (formalin acetic acid) for further microscopic studiesThe help of authentic internet website also accessed foridentification of all the collected species that are cited in thereference

3 Results and Discussion

Seven species of stinkhorns were collected and identified Allthe species were found to be a new record for the study areaas well as North East India which are described below

31 Phallus indusiatus Vent Mem Inst Natl Sci Sci Math1520 (1798) [21]

311 Material Examined India North East India (Newrecord) Assam Jorhat HGWLS 26∘411015840485710158401015840N latitude and94∘213101584005310158401015840E longitude 123m asl on soil of bamboo thicket

Journal of Mycology 3

(Comp2ndash4 Table 1) G Gogoi 2772012 Accession numberHGWLSC4004

312 Habit and Distribution P indusiatus is commonlycalled the bamboo fungus bamboo pith long net stinkhorncrinoline stinkhorn or veiled lady stinkhorns It grows ondead tree trunk and beneath the soil intermittently with theformation of reproductive structures called ldquoeggsrdquo with a con-spicuous rhizomorph at the base existing in the substratumThe eggs are hypogeous when young and become epigeous atmaturity as discussed by Alexopolous et al [22] The maturebasidiocarp with fetid smell survives only few hours Thisfungus has been reported to grow at temperatures between21 and 25∘C in moist bamboo thickets and in tropical areasincluding Argentina Australia Brazil Cameroon ChinaChinese Taipei Colombia Guinea India Japan Republicof Korea Madagascar Mexico New Zealand Panama andSingapore [23] In India it is reported from forest floor ofSantiniketan and West Bengal Bakshi and Mandal [24] andfrom Orissa as described by Dash et al [25]

313 Dimension of the Fruiting Body Egg (Figure 2(b)) is3-4 cm in diameter white to dark brown in colour smoothin texture and almost round in shape The peridium theouter layer of the egg is purple with three inner layers Theouter layer is thin membranous and elastic while the innerlayer is thicker gelatinous and continuous At maturity theperidium opens up and remains as a volva at the base of thestipe The mature basidiocarp (Figure 2(a)) is up to 20 cmtall and girded with a net-like structure called the indusium(18 cm broad) or skirt or veil that hangs down from theconical to bell-shaped cap extending to the volva The fertilehead or cap is gelatinous up to 4 cm tall and 35 cm broadcap is reticulated (pitted and ridged) surface is covered witha layer of greenish-brown and foul-smelling slime and thegleba and it opens with an apical pore (1 cm broad) Pores ormeshes of the indusium are hexagonal (asymp1 cm broad) upperpores are slightly larger than the lower ones with one smallpore in each side of the hexagon The stipe is 12ndash15 cm longand 25ndash3 cm broad The hollow stalk is white roughly equalin width throughout its length and spongy Basidiospores ofP indusiatus are thinwalled smooth bacillar and hyaline andmeasure 2-3120583m times 1ndash15120583m (Figure 2(c))

314 Edibility It is eaten as a vegetable in some parts ofChina and Hong Kong and the cost of dried mushroom is 10to 20 US Dollars per kg as discussed by Huang [26] But inthe study area of Assam India people do not eat it due to itsfetid smell

315 Discussion Eight species of Phallus have been reportedfrom India among which five species were reported byBilgrami et al [27] which include P impudicus P nanusP ravenelii P rubicundus and P rugulosus Another threespecies namely P indusiatus (Dash et al [25]) Dictyophoracinnabarina (Abrar et al [28]) and P multicolour werereported from West Bengal (Dutta et al [29]) P indusiatusis somewhat similar to P duplicatus and P atrovolvatus but

it differs in size of indusium and cap texture In P indusiatusindusium is long and big which reaches the ground and cap ishighly pitted but in P duplicatus and P atrovolvatus indusiumis short and small which covers 23 of the stipe from the capand the cap is somewhat smoothHenceP indusiatus is a newrecord for Assam as well as for North East India

32 Phallus duplicatus Bosc Magazin der GesellschaftNaturforschenden Freunde Berlin 586 t 67 (1811) [30]

321 Material Examined India (New record) North EastIndia Assam Jorhat HGWLS 26∘401015840467510158401015840N latitude and94∘201015840297810158401015840E longitude 128m asl decaying Bamboo stump(Comp2 Comp5 Table 1) G Gogoi 1282012 Accessionnumber HGWLSC2001

322 Habit and Distribution The fetid gleba coating the capof P duplicatus attracts flies and other insects that consumeit and help to disperse the spores as suggested by Roody2003 [31] P duplicatus commonly called netted stinkhorn orwood witch is a species of fungus in the stinkhorn family It isreported in Denmark Norway Spain Sweden United States[32] Brazil (Cortez et al [33]) and China (Zhishu et al [34])It is documented from Tamil Nadu India by Soosairaj et al[35]

323 Edibility The fungus is edible when still in the ldquoeggrdquostage before the fruit body is expanded as discussed byRoody[31] But there is no record of edibility in the study area andpeople may not know about edibility of this stinkhorn

324 Dimension of the Fruiting Body Fruiting body arisingfrom a semiburied roughly round egg (Figure 2(e)) whichgrows up to 2ndash25 cm broad is brown in colour and isattached to the substratum by a rhizomorph The fruitbody with maturity is ruptured and elongated to form acharacteristic phallic shape The fertile head is brown incolour and grows up to 3 cm tall 35 cm broad and is notreticulated aromatic and coated with a fetid liquid-likematerial the gleba Fully grown fruit body (Figure 2(d)) iscylindrical and attains up to 14 cm tall Stipe is up to 12 cmlong 25 cm broad and round hollow fragile and straightor curved surface being spongy-white the apex tipped by around to oval opening (5ndash10mm broad) and base coveredwith a volva A white lacy wavy margin skirt-like veil hangsbelow the cap which extends around up to 8 cm from thecap but never reaches the ground The pores of the veil areirregular or polygonal and lower pores are much larger thanthe upper ones Basidiospores are cylindrical hyaline andsmooth and measure 3-4120583m times 1-2 120583m (Figure 2(f))

325 Discussion P duplicatus is very close to P merulinusand P indusiatus but the skirt of P duplicatus is shortmeshes are mostly irregular and bigger in size cap surfaceis somewhat smooth in texture and unlike P indusiatus itdoes not collapse due to its own body weight In P duplicatusthe stipe is mostly curved egg is brown and veil is highlywavy with irregular meshes and does not collapse easily But


(a) (b)

(c)

(d) (e)

(f)

(g) (h)

(i)

(j) (k)

(l)

(m) (n)

(o)

(p) (q)

(r)

(s)

(t)

Figure 2 P indusiatus (a) fruit body Bar = 6 cm (b) egg Bar = 3 cm (c) basidiospores Bar = 18 120583m P duplicatus (d) fruit body Bar = 8 cm(e) egg Bar = 3 cm (f) basidiospores Bar = 24 120583m P cinnabarinus (g) fruit body Bar = 6 cm (h) egg Bar = 3 cm (i) basidiospores Bar =24 120583m P merulinus (j) fruit body Bar = 4 cm (k) egg Bar = 2 cm (l) basidiospores Bar = 21 120583m P atrovolvatus (m) fruit body Bar = 4 cm(n) egg Bar = 2 cm (o) basidiospores Bar = 25 120583mM bambusinus (p) fruit body Bar = 35 cm (q) egg Bar = 2 cm (r) basidiospores Bar= 35 120583m C delicatus (s) fruit body Bar = 1 cm (t) basidiospores Bar = 24 120583m


in P merulinus the stipe is always straight rarely curvedegg is white and veil is not so wavy with hexagonal meshesand veil collapses within few hours Moreover sizes of thebasidiospores are also differing among the three species Tilldate literature review revealed that there was no report ofP duplicatus from Assam as well as North East India It isinferred from the study that the species P duplicatus is thefirst report from Assam as well as North East India

33 Phallus cinnabarinus (WS Lee) Kreisel Czech Mycol-ogy 48 (4)278 (1996) [36]

331 Material Examined India North East India (Newrecord) Assam Jorhat HGWLS 26∘401015840315610158401015840N latitude and94∘201015840409310158401015840E longitude 128m asl on soil of bamboo thicket(Comp2-3 Table 1) G Gogoi 2582013 Accession numberHGWLSC2005

332 Habit and Distribution P cinnabarinus is attractivebecause of its orange coloured indusium bell-shaped pitted-reticulated cap this stinkhorn is recorded from Asia Aus-tralia Hawaii Central America South America and South-ern Mexico nearly worldwide [37] In India P cinnabarinais commonly found in Kuvempu University as discussed byJamaluddin et al [38] Brown et al [39] and Swapna et al [40]

333 Dimension of the Fruiting Body Mature fruiting body(Figure 2(g)) is up to 17 cm high with a white stem thatarises from a whitish to brownish gelatinous sac-like egg (2-3 cm across) with a laced orange coloured veil (up to 14 cmin diameter) hanging up to 9 cm from the bottom edge ofthe cap smell is unpleasant Veil is porus margin is wavysemielastic and pores are hexagonal Cap size is 25 cm highand 3 cm broad attached to stem at center by a white circletsurrounding the open pore (4mm) at top of stem lowermargin of head is free Stem is hollow porus has sponge-likestructure white and slightly narrows towards the apex Volvais very prominent at base of the stipe which is created fromthe rupturing of egg (Figure 2(h)) Basidiospores measure3-4 times 15ndash2120583m being long-elliptical to nearly cylindrical(Figure 2(i))

334 Edibility This species of stinkhorn is not consumed inthe study area

335 Discussion This species differs from all other speciesreported because of its orange coloured skirt P cinnabarinusis very close toP indusiatus in all aspects except colour of fruitbody and size of basidiospores In India a detailed study ofdifferent development stages starting from egg to maturedfruit of Dictyophora cinnabarinus was done by Abrar et al[28] Literature review revealed that there was no record ofthis species from North East India earlier and it is inferredthat P cinnabarinus is the first report for the region of NorthEast India

34 Phallus merulinus (Berk) Cooke Greillea11 (58)57(1882) [41]

341 Material Examined India North East India (Newrecord) Assam Jorhat HGWLS 26∘401015840479410158401015840N latitude and94∘201015840571910158401015840E longitude 118m asl on soil of bamboo thicket(Comp1-2 Comp5 Table-1) G Gogoi 1362013 Accessionnumber HGWLSC2143

342 Habit and Distribution It grows solitary on road sidesoil and decomposing leaf litterThewhite-veiledPmerulinuswas described for the first time from Australia [41] In Indiait is reported fromMangalore Karnataka Sridhar and Karun[42] and from Kerela Mohanan [16]

343 Dimension of the Fruiting Body P merulinus is com-monly called basket stinkhorn mushroom is prolonged fromsingle egg (Figure 2(k)) size 25 times 3 cm semiburied soilor decomposing leaf litter and white elastic volva attachedto substrate with conspicuous 2-3 white rhizomorphs Themature fruit body (Figure 2(j)) is 11 cm high Cap is grey withsize 26 times 29 cm incurved towards the stipe apex opens withan apical pore sticky gelatinous surface smooth Insects andants attracted by this mushroom help in spore dispersal Veilis white semielastic and 10 cm in diameter and margin wavyand hangs down to two-thirds of the stipe The upper sidepores of the veil are bigger than the lower side ones Stipe iswhite pitted hollow and tapering at apex with bulbous basehaving size 9 times 25 cm Basidiospores long-ellipsoid 29ndash35times 08ndash13 120583m subhyaline and smooth (Figure 2(l))

344 Edibility It is unknown in the study area

345 Discussion In contrast the cap surface of P indusiatustends to have conspicuous reticulations that remain clearlyvisible under the gleba Moreover the indusium of P meruli-nus is more delicate and shorter than that of P indusiatus andis thus less likely to collapse under its own weight as reportedby Reid [43] P merulinus can be readily distinguished atall growth stages from other veiled stinkhorns reported Atmaturity it is characterized by the cap appearing smoothunder the sporemass andwhen old and the spores havewornaway the cap is pale and granular-rugulose as per the reportof Barrett and Stuckey [44] This species is very close to Pduplicatus In both the species the skirt is short and covers23 of the stem from lower margin of the cap In P duplicatusthe veil is not so delicate meshes size and shape of the veilare irregular and the lower meshes are bigger than the upperones But in P merulinus the veil is very delicate meshes sizeand shape are uniform polygonal and the upper meshes arebigger than the lower ones Both the species are also differingin microstructures Literature survey shows that there was noreport of this species from North East India earlier Hence PMerulinus is a new record from North East India

35 Phallus atrovolvatus Calonge et al Boletin de laSociedad Micologica de Madrid 295-8 (2005) [45]



(Comp2 Table 1) G Gogoi 882013 Accession numberHGWLSC1195

352 Habit and Distribution The fruit body is granular orcap is smooth never reticulated and the indusium hangsdown from the lower margin of the cap about halfwaythe length of fruit body volva or egg is always black incolour stipe is white spongy These are the distinguishingcharacteristics of the fungus which place the present speciesunder P atrovolvatus as suggested by Calonge [46] Thisspecies was first described from Costa Rica (Barrett andStuckey [44]) and later reported from India (Das et al [47])

353 Dimension of the Fruiting Body Oval shaped egg(Figure 2(n)) size 2 times 3 cm exoperidium thin membranousalmost black volva smooth Odor is strong sweet andaromatic (never fetid)The stalk in a fully expanded fruit body(Figure 2(m)) measures 10ndash13 times 2ndash25 cm and is cylindricalgradually broader towards base with an apical pore in theapex hollow spongy white with head 2ndash25 cm long and 2-3 cm broad at base Indusium hangs 5-6 cm down below thecap (midway between cap and volva) It is white in colourand becomes yellowish white on drying Basidiospores arecylindrical smooth hyaline and measure 3ndash42 120583m times 11ndash17 120583m (Figure 2(o))


355 Discussion P merulinus and P indusiatus both are veryclose to the present species but P merulinus can only beseparated from P atrovolvatus by showing volva which isalways white never blackish or black as discussed by Calongeet al [45] Das et al [47] whereas P indusiatus can easilybe distinguished from the species in discussion by showingcoarsely reticulate receptacle and typically longer indusium(Calonge [46]) Literature review revealed that there was noreport of this fungus from North East India earlier Hence Patrovolvatus is reported as a new record for North East India

36 Mutinus bambusinus (Zoll) E Fisch Annales du JardinBotanique de Buitenzorg 630 Tables 4 amp 5 Figures 26ndash31(1886) [48]

361 Material Examined India North East India (Newrecord) Assam Jorhat HGWLS 26∘42101584057910158401015840N latitude and94∘211015840198210158401015840E longitude 126m asl soil of bamboo thicketand decaying bamboo stump (Comp1-Comp5 Table 1) GGogoi 1472012 Accession number HGWLSC4017

362 Habit and Distribution M bambusinus is commonlyknown as the dog stinkhorn the headless stinkhornThe fruitbody begins its development in an ldquoeggrdquo form resemblingsomewhat a puffball partially submerged in the ground Asthe fruit body matures the egg ruptures and the spongyspore-bearing stalk emerges The stalk is hollow porus andpinkish white in colour its shape is cylindrical below butit gradually tapers to a narrow apex with a small opening

at the tip The stalk is generally straight sometimes slightlycurved Fruit bodies are attached to the substrate by whitishhyphal cord called ldquorhizomorphrdquo that resembles plant rootsThe upper half of the stalk is red in colour covered witha foul-smelling slimy green spore mass called gleba Thefungus is listed in the red data list of Ukraine as discussed bySarkina et al [49] It is found in Costa Rica Guinea JapanRepublic of Korea andMexico [50] In India the species wasreported from Uttar Pradesh Eastern Ghat andWest Bengal(Mahapatra et al [51] Das et al [47])

363 Edibility It is unknown in the study area althoughthere are reports of the immature eggs of Mutinus speciesbeing consumed as suggested by Arora [52]

364 Dimension of the Fruiting Body The matured fruitbody (Figure 2(p)) is around 10ndash15 cm length grows from aegg (Figure 2(q)) and it is 15ndash3 cm times 1-2 cm in size Cap is redin colour soft and hollow and opens with an apical pore andcap is 5ndash85 cm long 1-2 cm wide Stipe is continuous withthe cap pink in colour fragile porus and hollowThe sporesare greenish-brown in color The basidiospores (Figure 2(r))are 4ndash7 times 2-3 120583m oblong-elliptical smooth and embeddedin the gleba

365 Discussion M bambusinus is very close to M elegansbut the former has a distinct and abrupt demarcation betweenred coloured upper half (cap) of the fruit body and white topinkish lower half (stipe) whereas the latter is orange-red incolour from top to bottom Both the species are also differentin size of basidiospores Till date three species of Mutinushave been reported from India namely M bambusinus(Mahapatra et al[51]) M caninus var caninus (Huds) FrandM caninus var albus Zeller (Dutta et al [29]) There wasno report ofM bambusinus fromNorth East India earlier Sothis is a new report of M bambusinus for North East regionof India

37 Clathrus delicates Berkelly and Broome Botanical Jour-nal of the Linnean Society 1477 (1875) [53]

371 Material Examined India North East India (Newrecord) Assam Jorhat HGWLS 26∘401015840379010158401015840N latitude and94∘201015840251610158401015840E longitude 118m asl leaf litter of bamboo(Comp2 Table 1) G Gogoi 192013 Accession numberHGWLSC2224

372 Habit and Distribution C delicatus is commonly calledShuttlecock mushroom and it is one of a few white (ratherthan red or orange) species ofClathrus and it can be separatedfrom the other white species on the basis of its armswhich are smooth white and flattened but with deep grooveon the outer surface more or less rounded in the innerportion and reduced to a single tube The species is beingcharacterized by considerably smaller size simplification ofthe tubular structure of the arms and presence of specializedldquoglebifersrdquo (structures that produced the spore slime locatedon the inner surfaces of the arms) and the bright yellow


rhizomorphs attached to its base This species was reportedfrom Sri Lanka (Berkeley and Broome [53]) and India (Roy[54] Pradhan et al [55] and Swapna et al [56])


374 Dimension of the Fruit Body Mature receptacle(Figure 2(t)) is 17 cm high 12 cm broad oval to egg-shapedcage-like latticed structure composed of slender arms thatare joined near the base white 06 cm long stipe meshes 8 innumber more or less isodiametric above and vertically belowBasidiospores (Figure 2(s)) are 35ndash4 times 18ndash22120583m elongatedto cylindrical hyaline and smooth

375 Discussion Literature review revealed that threespecies of Clathrus have been reported from India so farwhich include C concellatus C pusillus and C delicatusThe present species C delicatus was reported from WestBengal [54 55] and from Karnataka [56] and C cancellatus(synonymC ruber)was reported fromWest Bengal Pradhan[55 57] Literature survey showed that there was not anyreport on C delicatus from Assam as well as North EastIndia Hence this species is the first record of occurrencenot only in Assam but also in Northeast region of India

4 Conclusion

In the above study it is concluded that there are seven speciesof stinkhorns namely Phallus indusiatus Phallus duplicatusPhallus cinnabarinus Phallusmerulinus Phallus atrovolvatusMutinus bambusinus and Clathrus delicatus naturally occur-ring in the said sanctuary All the seven species are reportedto be a new record for Assam as well as North East IndiaSome fruit bodies of elucidated stinkhorn species were alsocollected from fringe villages of the sanctuaryM bambusinusis distributed in the entire sanctuary with 75 fruit bodies Pindusiatus and P merulinus are distributed in three compart-ments with 40 and 6 fruit bodies respectively P duplicatusand P cinnabarinus are distributed in two compartmentswith 15 and 5 fruit bodies respectively P atrovolvatus andC delicatus are distributed only in one compartment onlywith 4 and 2 fruit bodies respectively Due to illicit fellingencroachment heavy grazing and browsing the naturalforests are being degraded and fragmented that resulted intoa considerable decline of mycofloral diversity Like othersaprophagous fungi stinkhorns also play a significant rolein recycling nutrients and decomposing the dead organicmatter specially plants and litter in soil which helps in theimprovement of soil health [4] Rehabilitation of forest com-munities needs considerable duration as macrofungi prefersold microhabitats over new microhabitats as discussed byNorden andAppelqvist [58]The fungi are also key functionalcomponents of forest ecosystems [1] In order to preserve themacrofungal gene pool in situ there is necessityto conserveold growth forests through sustainable approach which isendowed with ample quantity of diverse detritus suitablefor fungal existence and perpetuation [42] and HollongaparGibbon Wildlife Sanctuary is also one of them

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interestsregarding the publication of this paper

Acknowledgment

The authors thank Assam State Forest Department particu-larly for providing required information about the Hollonga-par Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary

References

[1] G M Mueller and G F Bills ldquoIntroductionrdquo in Biodiversity ofFungi Inventory and Monitoring Method G M Mueller G FBills and M S Foster Eds pp 1ndash4 Elsevier Academic PressSan Diego Calif USA 2004

[2] A Cowan ldquoFungi-life support for ecosystemsrdquo Essential ARBvol 4 pp 1ndash5 2001

[3] S Chang and G P Miles Mushrooms Cultivation NutritionalValue Medicinal Effects and Environmental Impact CRC PressNew York NY USA 2004

[4] G M Gadd Fungi in Bioremediation Press Syndicate of theUniversity of Cambridge Cambridge UK 2001

[5] G M Mueller and J P Schmit ldquoFungal biodiversity what dowe knowWhat canwe predictrdquoBiodiversity and Conservationvol 16 no 1 pp 1ndash5 2007

[6] A K Sarbhoy D K Agarwal and J L Varshney Fungi of India1982ndash1992 CBS New Delhi India 1996

[7] D L Hawksworth ldquoGlobal species numbers of fungi aretropical studies andmolecular approaches contributing tomorerobust estimatesrdquo Biodiversity and Conservation vol 21 pp2425ndash2433 2012

[8] E J Butler and G K Bisby The Fungi of India ICAR Publica-tions New Delhi India 1931 Revised by R S Vasudeva 1960

[9] N Myers R A Mittermeler C G Mittermeler G A B daFonseca and J Kent ldquoBiodiversity hotspots for conservationprioritiesrdquo Nature vol 403 no 6772 pp 853ndash858 2000

[10] T C Sarma I Sarma and B N Patiri ldquoWild edible mushroomsused by some ethnic tribes of western AssamrdquoThe Bioscan vol3 pp 613ndash625 2010

[11] B Tanti L Gurung and G C Sarma ldquoWild edible fungalresources used by ethnic tribes of Nagaland Indiardquo IndianJournal of Traditional Knowledge vol 10 no 3 pp 512ndash515 2011

[12] P Khaund and S R Joshi ldquoWild edible Macrofungal speciesconsumed by the Khasi tribes of Meghalaya Indiardquo IndianJournal of Natural Products and Resources vol 4 no 2 pp 197ndash204 2013

[13] P Baruah P Kailta D Bordoloi P Gogoi and R K AdhikaryldquoSome fleshy fungi of ethnobotanic use from North East IndiardquoAdvances in Forestry Research in India vol 16 pp 165ndash171 1997

[14] N I Sing and S M Sing ldquoEdible flesh fungal flora of ManipurrdquoBioveel vol 4 no 2 pp 153ndash158 1993

[15] N Tuno ldquoSpore dispersal of Dictyophora fungi (Phallaceae) byfliesrdquo Ecological Research vol 13 no 1 pp 7ndash15 1998

[16] C Mohanan Macrofungi of Kerala Kerala Forest ResearchInstitute Kerala India 2011

[17] P M Kirk P F Cannon D W Minter and J A StaplersDictionary of the Fungi CABI Wallingford UK 10th edition2008


[18] S H G Champion and S K Seth A Review of the Forest Typesof India Government of India New Delhi India 1968

[19] D L Largent How To Identify Mushrooms To Genus I Macro-scopical Features 1977

[20] A Kornerup and J HWanscherMethuen Handbook of ColourMethuen London UK 3rd edition 1978

[21] T-P Larissa A C Gomes-Silva and I G Baseia ldquoNotes ongasteroid fungi of the Brazilian Amazon rainforestrdquoMycotaxonvol 110 pp 73ndash80 2009

[22] C J Alexopolous C W Mims and M M Blackwell Introduc-tory Mycology John Wiley amp Sons New York NY USA 1996

[23] ldquoGlobal Biodiversity Information facilityrdquo httpwwwgbiforghttpdatagbiforgtermshtmforwardUrl=http3A2F2Fdatagbiforg2Foccurrences2FsearchCountrieshtm3Fc[0]s3D2026c[0]p3D026c[0]o3D2524108

[24] D Bakshi and N C Mandal ldquoActivities of some catabolicand anabolic enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism duringdevelopmental phases of fruit-bodies of Dictyophora indusiataand Geastrum fornicatumrdquo Current Science vol 90 no 8 pp1062ndash1064 2006

[25] P K Dash D K Sahu S Sahoo and R Das ldquoPhallus indusiatusVent ampPers (Basidiomycetes)-a new generic record for EasternGhats of Indiardquo Journal of Threatened Taxa vol 2 no 8 pp1096ndash1098 2010

[26] N L Huang ldquoCurrent status and future prospects ofmushroomindustry in Chinardquo Edible Fungi of China vol 107 no 19 pp 6ndash8 2002

[27] K Bilgrami S Jamaluddin and M A Rizwi Fungi of IndiaToday and Tomorrowrsquos Printers and Publishers New DelhiIndia 1991

[28] S Abrar S Swapna andM Krishnappa ldquoDictyophora cinnaba-rinardquo Current Science vol 92 no 9 pp 1219ndash1220 2007

[29] A K Dutta N Chakraborty P Pradhan and K AcharyaldquoPhallales of West Bengal India II Phallaceae Phallus andMutinusrdquo Researcher vol 4 no 8 pp 21ndash25 2012

[30] L Bosc ldquoMemoire sur quelques especes de Champignons desparties meridionales de lrsquoAmerique septentrionalerdquo MagazinDer Gesellschaft Naturforschenden Freunde Berlin vol 5 p 831811

[31] W C Roody Mushrooms of West Virginia and the CentralAppalachians University Press of Kentucky Lexington KyUSA 2003


[33] V G Cortez I G Baseia and R M B da Silveira ldquoTwonoteworthy Phallus from southern BrazilrdquoMycoscience vol 52no 6 pp 436ndash438 2011

[34] B Zhishu G Zheng and L Taihui The Macrofungus Floraof Chinarsquos Guangdong Province Chinese University PressColumbia University Press New York NY USA 1993

[35] S Soosairaj P Raja A Kala and R P Kalainger ldquoSurvey ofMacrofungi from a few District of Tamil Nadurdquo The Bioscanvol 7 no 4 pp 669ndash671 2012

[36] H Kreisel ldquoA preliminary survey of the genus Phallus sensulatordquo Czech Mycology vol 48 no 4 pp 273ndash280 1996

[37] Mushroomexpert httpwwwmushroomexpertcomphalluscinnabarinushtml

[38] Jamaluddin M G Goswami and B M Ojha Fungi of India(1989ndash2001) Scientific Publishers Jodhpur India 2004

[39] N Brown S Bhagwat and S Watkinson ldquoMacrofungal diver-sity in fragmented and disturbed forests of theWesternGhats ofIndiardquo Journal of Applied Ecology vol 43 no 1 pp 11ndash17 2006

[40] S Swapna S Abrar and M Krishnappa ldquoDiversity of macro-fungi in semi-evergreen andmoist deciduous forest of ShimogaDistrict Karnataka Indiardquo Journal of Mycology and PlantPathology vol 38 no 1 pp 21ndash26 2008

[41] M C Cooke ldquoAustralian fungirdquoGrevillea vol 11 no 58 pp 57ndash65 1882

[42] K R Sridhar and N C Karun ldquoOn the basket stinkhornMush-room Phallus merulinus (Phallaceae) in Mangalore KarnatakaIndiardquo Journal of Threatened Taxa vol 5 no 5 pp 3985ndash39882013

[43] D A Reid ldquoSome gasteromycetes from Trinidad and TobagordquoKew Bulletin vol 31 no 3 pp 657ndash690 1977

[44] M Barrett and B Stuckey ldquoPhallus merulinus newly reportedfor the top endrdquo Fungimap Newsletter vol 36 p 16 2008

[45] F D Calonge H Kreisel and M Mata ldquoPhallus atrovolvatus anew species from Costa Ricardquo Boletın de la Sociedad MicologicaDe Madrid vol 29 pp 5ndash8 2005

[46] F D Calonge ldquoA tentative keys to identify the species ofPhallusrdquo Bulletino del Circolo Micrologo vol 29 pp 9ndash18 2005

[47] K Das M E Hembrom and A Parihar ldquoTwo interestingspecies of stinkhorns from Indiardquo NeBIO vol 4 no 4 pp 1ndash6 2013

[48] E Fischer ldquoZur Entwicklungsgeschichte der Fruchtkorpereiniger PhalloideenrdquoAnnales du Jardin Botanique de Buitenzorgvol 6 pp 1ndash51 1886

[49] I S Sarkina M P Prydiuk and V P Heluta ldquoMacromycetes ofCrimea listed in the red data book of Ukrainerdquo UkrayinsrsquokyiBotanichnyi Zhurnal vol 60 no 4 pp 438ndash446 2003(Ukrainian)


[51] A K Mahapatra S S Tripathy and V KaviyarasanMushroomDiversity in Eastern Ghat of India Regional Plant ResourceCentre Odisha India 2013

[52] D Arora Mushrooms Demystified Ten Speed Press BerkeleyCalif USA 1986

[53] M J Berkeley and C E Broome ldquoEnumeration of the fungi ofCeylon Part IIrdquo Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society vol 14pp 29ndash141 1874

[54] T C Roy ldquoFungi of Bengalrdquo Bulletin of the Botanical Society ofBengal vol 2 pp 134ndash177 1948

[55] P Pradhan A K Dutta S Giri N Chakraborty A Roy andK Acharya ldquoPhallales of West Bengal india I ClathraceaeAseroe and Clathrusrdquo Science amp Culture vol 78 no 9-10 pp444ndash447 2012

[56] S Swapna S Abrar C Manoharachary and M KrishnappaldquoDevelopment and morphology of Clathrus delicatus (Phal-lomycetidae Phallaceae) from Indiardquo Mycotaxon vol 114 pp319ndash328 2010

[57] P Pradhan A K Dutta A Roy S K Basu and K AcharyaldquoMacrofungal diversity and habitat specificity a case studyrdquoBiodiversity vol 14 no 3 pp 147ndash161 2013

[58] B Norden and T Appelqvist ldquoConceptual problems of ecologi-cal continuity and its bioindicatorsrdquo Biodiversity and Conserva-tion vol 10 no 5 pp 779ndash791 2001

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

Anatomy Research International

PeptidesInternational Journal of


Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom

International Journal of

Volume 2014

Zoology


Molecular Biology International

GenomicsInternational Journal of


The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014


BioinformaticsAdvances in

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Signal TransductionJournal of


BioMed Research International

Evolutionary BiologyInternational Journal of



Biochemistry Research International

ArchaeaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014


Genetics Research International


Advances in

Virolog y

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Nucleic AcidsJournal of

Volume 2014

Stem CellsInternational



Enzyme Research



Microbiology


Table 1 Compartment wise distribution of stinkhorns in the Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary

Sl number Name of Stinkhorn species Number of fruit bodies in each compartment Total number CountComp1 Comp2 Comp3 Comp4 Comp5

I P indusiatus mdash 20 10 10 mdash 40 3II P duplicatus mdash 9 mdash mdash 6 15 2III P cinnabarinus mdash 4 1 mdash mdash 5 2IV P merulinus 3 2 mdash mdash 1 6 3V P atrovolvatus mdash 4 mdash mdash mdash 4 1VI M bambusinus 8 25 15 12 15 75 5VII C delicatus mdash 2 mdash mdash mdash 2 1

Total number 11 66 26 22 22 147Count 2 7 3 3 3

Size of Comp in km2 2 698 5 4 3 2098Numbers of Transects 4 14 10 8 6 42

Note Comp compartment km2 kilometers square

Sanctuary boundarySanctuary compartmentSanctuary drainageBhogdoi River

Railway trackPlacesRoad

0 05 1 2

(km)

N

94∘169984000998400998400E

94∘1699840030998400998400E

94∘179984000998400998400E

94∘1799840030998400998400E

94∘189984000998400998400E

94∘1899840030998400998400E

94∘199984000998400998400E

94∘1999840030998400998400E

94∘209984000998400998400E

94∘2099840030998400998400E

94∘219984000998400998400E

94∘2199840030998400998400E

94∘229984000998400998400E

94∘2299840030998400998400E

94∘239984000998400998400E

94∘2399840030998400998400E

94∘249984000998400998400E

94∘169984000998400998400E

94∘1699840030998400998400E

94∘179984000998400998400E

94∘1799840030998400998400E

94∘189984000998400998400E

94∘1899840030998400998400E

94∘199984000998400998400E

94∘1999840030998400998400E

94∘209984000998400998400E

94∘2099840030998400998400E

94∘219984000998400998400E

94∘2199840030998400998400E

94∘229984000998400998400E

94∘2299840030998400998400E

94∘239984000998400998400E

94∘2399840030998400998400E

94∘249984000998400998400E

26∘44

9984000998400998400N

26∘43

99840030

998400998400N

26∘43

9984000998400998400N

26∘42

99840030

998400998400N

26∘42

9984000998400998400N

26∘41

99840030

998400998400N

26∘41

9984000998400998400N

26∘40

99840030

998400998400N

26∘40

9984000998400998400N

26∘39

99840030

998400998400N

26∘39

9984000998400998400N

26∘44

9984000998400998400N

26∘43

99840030

998400998400N

26∘43

9984000998400998400N

26∘42

99840030

998400998400N

26∘42

9984000998400998400N

26∘41

99840030

998400998400N

26∘41

9984000998400998400N

26∘40

99840030

998400998400N

26∘40

9984000998400998400N

26∘39

99840030

998400998400N

26∘39

9984000998400998400N

Figure 1 Map of study site within red boundary line

Wildlife Sanctuary lies between 2640ndash2645∘N latitude and9418ndash9423∘E longitude and it covers an area of 2098 km2The sanctuary is situated at 100ndash130m asl (meters abovesea level) and the average annual rainfall is 249 cm It is inthe tract of rich loamy alluvial formation in the foothills ofNagaland having soil pH ranging between 52 and 55 Theforest of the area as per Champion and Seth [18] is AssamPlain Alluvial Semi Evergreen Forest with pockets of WetEvergreenThe vegetation is typically a tree forest mixed withbamboos and canes

22 Collection Preservation and Examination GibbonWildlife Sanctuary is composed of five compartments(Figure 1) and these compartments are not only different in

size but also different in vegetation composition topographyand soil nutrients The size of compartments is given inTable 1 Stratified random sampling technique is used tocollect data from different compartments of the sanctuaryA total of 42 transects have been studied in the sanctuarymeasuring 50m times 20m for each transect and consideringtwo transects for 1 km square area The total number of fruitbodies in each compartment as well as in the whole sanctuaryhas been extrapolated with the help of data collected fromdifferent transects (Table 1)

The sampling and collections of stinkhorns were donefrom April 2012 to September 2013 as suggested by Largent[19] Field characters such as habit habitat odour colourand size of the pileus (cap) veil stipe and volva presenceor absence of indusium or veil and so forth were noted fromthe fresh material and photographs were taken in its naturalhabitat The colour terminology was used for identificationas suggested by Kornerup andWanscher [20]The specimenswere dried in hot air oven at 40ndash50∘C and stored in airtight plastic containers with some naphthalene balls andthe samples of the same species were also preserved inFAA (formalin acetic acid) for further microscopic studiesThe help of authentic internet website also accessed foridentification of all the collected species that are cited in thereference

3 Results and Discussion

Seven species of stinkhorns were collected and identified Allthe species were found to be a new record for the study areaas well as North East India which are described below

31 Phallus indusiatus Vent Mem Inst Natl Sci Sci Math1520 (1798) [21]
















(a) (b)

(c)

(d) (e)

(f)

(g) (h)

(i)

(j) (k)

(l)

(m) (n)

(o)

(p) (q)

(r)

(s)

(t)







































4 Conclusion




Acknowledgment


References



































































Volume 2014

Zoology






















Advances in

Virolog y



Volume 2014




Enzyme Research



Microbiology















(a) (b)

(c)

(d) (e)

(f)

(g) (h)

(i)

(j) (k)

(l)

(m) (n)

(o)

(p) (q)

(r)

(s)

(t)







































4 Conclusion




Acknowledgment


References



































































Volume 2014

Zoology






















Advances in

Virolog y



Volume 2014




Enzyme Research



Microbiology






































4 Conclusion




Acknowledgment


References



































































Volume 2014

Zoology






















Advances in

Virolog y



Volume 2014




Enzyme Research



Microbiology


















































Volume 2014

Zoology






















Advances in

Virolog y



Volume 2014




Enzyme Research



Microbiology

Research Article Some New Records of Stinkhorns...

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Transcript of Research Article Some New Records of Stinkhorns...