Some nivicolous species of Lamproderma and Meriderma from the Himalayan Mountains of northwestern India Author Moreno, Gabriel Departamento Ciencias de la Vida (Botánica), Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Alcalá, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid. España Author Villalba, Angela López Departamento Ciencias de la Vida (Botánica), Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Alcalá, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid. España Author Castillo, Aurelio Departamento Ciencias de la Vida (Botánica), Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Alcalá, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid. España Author Stephenson, Steven L. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701, USA & Departamento Ciencias de la Vida (Botánica), Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Alcalá, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid. España text Phytotaxa 2018 2018-10-29 373 3 221 230 http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.373.3.5 journal article 10.11646/phytotaxa.373.3.5 1179-3163 13728466 Lamproderma splendens Meyl., Bull. Soc. Vaud . Sci. Nat. 57: 44 (1929) Fig. 5 Sporocarps gregarious, stalked, 1–1.7 × 0.8–1.3 mm . Sporotheca globose, subglobose to rarely lenticular. Stalk blackish brown to dark reddish brown and up to one half the height of the sporocarp. Peridium light brown, iridiscent without macules or crystals. Columella blackish brown up to one half the height of the sporotheca, usually with membranous expansions in the upper portion. Capillitium dark reddish brown, arising from the apex of the columella, with branches more or less parallel to each other, branching and anastomosing, with paler and pointed filiform free ends. Hypothallus reddish, usually contiguous for a group of sporocarps. Spores (9)10.3–13 × (9)10.2–12.5 μm in diam, av. 11.9 × 11.6 μm, Q av = 1–1.04–1.08(1.09), (n = 25), globose to subglobose, dark brown in mass, brown-violet in transmitted light, with a paler area, thin warts densely distributed. Under SEM the spore ornamentation is formed by short baculae which are regularly distributed. FIGURE 5. Lamproderma splendens Meyl. , (AH 46519). a. Sporocarps, b. Sporocarp and peridium by LM, c. Details of the columella and capillitium, d–e. Spores, f. Detail of spore ornamentation. Bars: a = 1 mm, b = 200 μm, c = 100 μm, d–e = 2 μm, f = 1 μm. Habitat: —Nivicolous, on decaying herbaceous plants near the edge of melting snowbanks. Specimens examined: — INDIA . Himachal Pradesh Province : north of the city of Manali, 32°20’23.9 N , 77°13’08.2 E , 3240 m , 22 May 2006 , leg. Stephenson 21285 in AH 46519. Notes: — Lamproderma splendens is characterized by its globose to subglobose sporotheca, black stalk, radial and dense dark capillitium with paler free ends and warted spores 10–13 μm in diam. Lamprodema splendens is a species difficult to differentiate because of its resemblance to L. sauteri Rostaf. , L. splendidissimum Mar. Mey., Bozonnet & Poulain and L. pulveratum Mar. Mey. & Poulain. Lamproderma sauteri is characterized by its light capillitium and spinulose spore ornamentation, whereas L. splendidissimum differs mainly by its short stalk, which is about one third or less than the height of the sporotheca. Other characteristics such as the size and ornamentation of the spores and the color of the capillitium are very similar ( Poulain et al . 2014 ). Lamproderma pulveratum has a peridium covered with crystals, the capillium is lighter, the spores smaller (10–11.5 μm in diam) and have an ornamentation consisting of thick warts. Martin & Alexopoulos (1969) considered Lamproderma splendens and L. sauteri as synonymous species but gave preference to the name L. sauteri . Kowalski (1975) considered L. splendens a synonym of L. arcyrioides (Sommerf.) Rostaf. To clearly differentiate these two species, molecular studies will be necessary. Lamproderma splendidissimum Mar. Mey., Bozonnet & Poulain , in Poulain, Meyer & Bozonnet, Bull. Mycol. Bot. Dauphiné-Savoie 213: 5 (2014) Fig. 6 Sporocarps sessile or short stalked, crowded. Sporotheca ovoid to subglobose, 0.5–0.7 mm in height and 0.5–1.4 mm in diam. Peridium membranous, blue iridescent, without macules. Dehiscence irregular, often with remains of the peridium persisting at the base of the sporotheca. Stalk very short ( 0.2–0.5 mm ), blackish brown, widened at the base. Columella dark brown and up to one half the height of the sporotheca. Capillitium branched, dark brown and with paler and pointed free ends. Spores (9)9.3–11.5(12) × 9–10.9(11) μm in diam, av. 10.4×9.9 μm, Q av = 1–1.04–1.11(1.15), (n = 25), globose to subglobose, blackish brown in mass, brown-violet in transmitted light, warted to spinulose. Under SEM the spore ornamentation is formed by baculae which rarely fuse to form small crests with an irregular distribution. Habitat: —Nivicolous, on decaying herbaceous plants near the edge of melting snowbanks. FIGURE 6. Lamproderma splendidissimum Mar. Mey., Bozonnet & Poulain , (AH 46524). a. Sporocarps (AH 46524), b. Sporocarp by LM (AH 46524), c. Details of the columella and capillitium (AH 46524), d–e. Spores, f. Detail of spore ornamentation. Bars: a = 1 mm, b = 200 μm, c = 100 μm, d–e = 2 μm, f = 1 μm. Specimens examined: — INDIA . Himachal Pradesh Province : north of the city of Manali, 32°20’23.9 N , 77°13’08.2 E , 3240 m , 20 May 2006 , leg. Stephenson 21205 in AH 46524. Ibidem , 20 May 2006 , leg. Stephenson 21209 in AH 46520. Notes: — Lamproderma splendidissimum is a recently proposed species ( Poulain et al. 2014 ) which is characterized by its thick iridescent blue sporotheca, short stalk and warted to spinulose spores 10–11.5 μm in diam. This species can be confused with Lamproderma splendens Meyl. , but the latter has a longer stalk (generally of the same length as the diameter of the sporotheca) and is characterized by the presence of acicular crystals on the peridium and spores 9–10.5 μm in diam. Some authors synonymize Lamproderma splendens with L. arcyrioides (Sommerf.) Rostaf. ( Poulain et al. 2011 ).