In updating the taxonomy of Hypocalymma (Endl.) Endl. sect. Hypocalymma (Myrtaceae: Chamelaucieae), the section is described, a key is provided to the species and hybrids, full descriptions given for 11 species (three of them new, one reinstated) and three hybrids (one newly named). Taxa needing further study are noted. Five species and two of the hybrids described here have conservation priority. Two new species are described from the H. xanthopetalum F.Muell. complex as H. lateriticola Keighery & Rye and H. quadrangulare Rye & Keighery. The circumscription of H. angustifolium (Endl.) Schauer is reduced with the reinstatement of H. suave Lindl. and the description of the new species H. balbakiae Tauss & Rye. A northern variant of H. balbakiae (previously known as H. angustifolium subsp. Hutt River) is considered to be insufficiently distinct to recognise formally as a subspecies. Evidence is presented that one previously named and two phrase-named taxa are hybrids. Two of the hybrids are known from more than one location and have been recorded in hybrid swarms: one between H. angustifolium and H. tetrapterum Turcz. is named as H. × proliferum Keighery & Rye, while the other, H. × linifolium Turcz., has the parent species H. angustifolium and H. lateriticola. The third hybrid is H. tenuatum × H. xanthopetalum. The description of H. jessicae Strid & Keighery is broadened to include a new variant that has mostly higher ovule and stamen numbers. Amendments are made to the stamen and ovule numbers recorded for H. sylvestre Strid & Keighery; this species has up to 200 stamens, which is the highest stamen number known for the tribe Chamelaucieae DC. A new fruit type that is indehiscent and somewhat winged, is recorded for the genus; it occurs only in H. serrulatum Strid & Keighery, which also has an unusual breeding system.
Pterostylis segregata (Orchidaceae), a rare new species from south-west Western Australia
BROCKMAN, G. AND FRENCH, C.J., Nuytsia34: 61–64 (2023)
Four species of Amanita Pers. are documented from Western Australia. Amanita brunneola E.M.Davison & Giustiniano is described from the Perth region. It is distinguished by its pale brown pileus, white universal veil, globose basal bulb, amyloid, cylindric spores and presence of clamp connections. Amanita cretaceaverruca E.M.Davison & Giustiniano is described from the Perth region and the southern jarrah forest. It is distinguished by its brown pileus, with a thick white warty universal veil, globose or ovoid basal bulb, amyloid, elongate spores and absence of clamp connections. Amanita mallee E.M.Davison, Giustiniano & M.D.Barrett is described from the Shire of Coolgardie. It is distinguished by its white pileus and universal veil, tapered basal bulb, amyloid, cylindric spores and abundant clamp connections. Amanita validiuscula E.M.Davison, Giustiniano & K.Syme is described from the wheatbelt and Yalgoo area. It is distinguished by its white pileus and universal veil, ivory lamellae, fusiform or tapered basal bulb, amyloid, ellipsoid spores and abundant clamp connections. Molecular analysis shows all these species are members of sect. Roanokenses. Amanita brunneola, A. cretaceaverruca and A. mallee form a clade with other species from Australia and New Zealand, which may indicate Gondwanan origin.
Lectotypification of Astartea arbuscula and A. fascicularis (Myrtaceae)
A new, geographically restricted species of Acrotriche (Ericaceae: Epacridoideae: Styphelieae) from the central south coast of Western Australia and an updated key to species
HISLOP, M.,WALKERDEN, K. AND WATERS, J., Nuytsia34: 99–103 (2023)
Amanita marinae E.M.Davison & Giustiniano from sect. Validae (Fr.) Quél. is described from Kwongan vegetation in the Lesueur Sandplain of the mid-west region of Western Australia. It is distinguished by a white to ivory pileus; white to pale vinaceous buff universal veil; a white, membranous, flaring partial veil; amyloid elongate spores; and absence of clamp connections. Its affinities with other members of sect. Validae are unclear as phylogenetic analyses of nuLSU and tef-1 sequences show affinities with northern hemisphere species, whilst comparison of ITS sequences shows affinities with an undescribed species from New Zealand. Variability in the ITS region between cloned haplotypes of A.marinae was less than 1% — comparable with haplotype divergence previously observed for other sect. Validae.
Taxonomic resolution of infraspecific taxa in Lambertiaorbifolia (Proteaceae) using molecular and morphological evidence
The taxonomy of three informally-named, conservation-listed subspecies of Lambertia orbifolia C.A.Gardner was assessed using genotypic data generated from microsatellites in concert with morphological information. They were found to warrant formal taxonomic recognition and individualised conservation management. Lambertiaorbifolia subsp. vespera A.D.Webb, L.Monks & Wege, an Endangered taxon from the Scott River Plains, and L.orbifolia subsp. pecuniosa A.D.Webb, L.Monks & Wege, a recently discovered and apparently rare taxon from south-west of Bowelling, are newly described and comparative data are provided for L.orbifolia subsp. orbifolia, a Critically Endangered taxon found near Narrikup. A revised description of L.orbifolia is also provided.
The taxonomy of the Stypheliacorynocarpa subgroup (Ericaceae: Epacridoideae: Styphelieae)
A small subgroup within the heterogeneous Styphelia Sm. Group X is recognised based on morphological and molecular data. A morphological synopsis of, and key to, the subgroup are provided, and all four member species are described and illustrated. Three of the four species are described as new, S. anomala Hislop, S. cylindrica Hislop and S. planiconvexa Hislop, while S. corynocarpa (Sond.) F.Muell. is given an updated description. Styphelia anomala has Western Australian conservation listing as Priority Two.
Ferdinand Mueller in Western Australia in 1877, with notes on his later contributions to the Western Australian flora
Baron Ferdinand von Mueller, Australia’s most productive botanist of the mid–late nineteenth century, was especially enamoured with the flora of Western Australia, and wrote about its ‘marvellous exuberance’, ‘typic singularity’ and ‘endemism’. He botanised in Western Australia on three occasions: in 1856 in the Sturt Creek area during Augustus Gregory’s North Australian Exploring Expedition; in 1867 in the Porongurup Range and Stirling Range and around Albany; and in 1877 with excursions from Champion Bay to Shark Bay and from Perth to Albany. Although he considered that most of Australia’s plant taxa had been described by the late 1870s, he remained attentive for novelties, especially those that were rare or from remote, under-botanised areas, especially in Western Australia. Many of Mueller’s later publications consolidated aspects of nomenclature, systematics, biogeography, economics, horticulture and utilisation of the flora of Western Australia.
Echinosteliumaustraliense (Myxomycetes: Echinosteliaceae), a new species of slime mould described from Western Australia
KNIGHT, K.J.,STEPHENSON, S.L. AND NOVOZHILOV, Y.K., Nuytsia34: 179–186 (2023)
A new and unusual species of Echinostelium de Bary appearing on samples of bark collected in Western Australia and placed in moist chamber cultures is described and illustrated. This new species is clearly distinct from all other species of Echinostelium as it differs in a number of morphological and colour characters. The dark colouration of the sporotheca, stalk and spores with distinct patches of closely arranged warts arranged in a loosely circular pattern, and a large bi-coloured petaloid collar are unusual for the genus.
Volvopluteusearlei and Volvariellataylorii: new fungi for Western Australia (Basidiomycota, Agaricales, Pluteaceae)
BOUGHER, N.L. AND BARRETT, M.D., Nuytsia34: 187–201 (2023)
Re-examination of vouchered specimens of pink-spored, volvate, agaricoid fungi held at the Western Australian Herbarium (PERTH) has revealed the first recorded occurrences in Western Australia of Volvopluteusearlei (Murrill) Vizzini, Contu & Justo and Volvariellataylorii (Berk. & Broome) Singer, and affirmed the regional prevalence of Volvopluteusgloiocephalus (DC.) Vizzini, Contu & Justo. The identities of the two Volvopluteus Vizzini, Contu & Justo taxa were confirmed with molecular data relative to extra-Australian samples validated in previous studies. Volvopluteusearlei had not been previously reported from Australia. Evidently Volvopluteusearlei and Volvariellataylorii are less common in Australia than the larger and more often encountered Common Rosegill, Volvopluteusgloiocephalus.
Marasmius australotrichotus (Marasmiaceae), a new setose species from Australia, and an intriguing range extension for M. paratrichotus
Based on morphological characters and molecular analysis of the nrITS regions, Marasmiusaustralotrichotus F.E.Guard, J.Dearnaley & T.Lebel, the first known Australian species in sect. Sicci, ser. Spinulosi is described. The distribution of M.paratrichotus is extended from the West African island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe (ST&P) to Christmas Island (CI) and northern Western Australia (WA). Classification, distinguishing characters, habitat variability, geographic distribution and possible dispersal mechanisms are discussed.
Molecular analysis identifies a red seaweed common in the Swan Estuary as Gracilariatranstasmanica (Gracilariales: Gracilariaceae)
HUISMAN, J.M.,ZUCCARELLO, G.C. AND LIN, S.-M., Nuytsia34: 221–226 (2023)
The taxonomy of several species of Goodenia with connate bracts allied to G.panduriformis (A.Cunn. ex Benth.) K.A.Sheph. was evaluated through morphological assessment of herbarium specimens. Consequently, the circumscriptions of G.connata (F.Muell.) K.A.Sheph., G.discophora (F.Muell.) K.A.Sheph., G.daviesii (F.Muell.) K.A.Sheph. and G.panduriformis are revised and new descriptions provided. Three new species, G.aluta K.A.Sheph. & Lepschi, G.crescentiloba K.A.Sheph. & Lepschi and G.obscurata K.A.Sheph. & Lepschi are also recognised, the latter being listed as a species of conservation concern. Further, a replacement lectotype for Velleiahelmsii K.Krause is designated and a key, distribution maps and figures are included.
Eremophilaimprovisa, E. rubicunda and E. saxatilis (Scrophulariaceae), three new species from Western Australia
BROWN, A.P. AND DAVIS, R.W., Nuytsia34: 255–260 (2023)
The Australian hummock genus Triodia R.Br. is currently undergoing taxonomic revision in light of new collections from surveys of remote Australia and increased resolution provided by molecular methods. This paper describes four new species of Triodia from the Pilbara and adjacent IBRA bioregions: T.avenoides M.D.Barrett, T.degreyensis M.D.Barrett, T.karijini M.D.Barrett & S.J.Dillon, and T.lutiteana M.D.Barrett & P.-L.de Kock. All four species are ‘soft’ spinifexes with elongate glumes and lemma lobes subulate to awned, and are only known from the Pilbara and adjacent Carnarvon and Gascoyne regions of Western Australia. Triodiadegreyensis is known from a single range system in the north-eastern Pilbara. The taxon formerly known by the phrase name T. sp. Karijini (S. van Leeuwen 4111) is formally described here as T.karijini, and is restricted to mountains above 900 m altitude in the eastern Hamersley Range. Triodialutiteana is only known from shale substrates north-west of Tom Price, and may be a polyploid species. The new species T.avenoides is segregated from T.schinzii (Henrard) Lazarides based on morphological and molecular differences and a disjunct distribution on sand sheets and dunes of the Carnarvon basin. The central Australian species T.helmsii (C.E.Hubb.) Lazarides is newly synonymised with T.schinzii, since no clear morphological or genetic differences between the two could be established. An amended description of T.schinzii is provided to accommodate these alterations to the species concept. Diagnostic character combinations for each species are given to allow discrimination from all other Triodia species. Triodiadegreyensis, T.karijini and T.lutiteana are known from between one and four localities, and have priority conservation statuses, while T.avenoides and T.schinzii are not considered threatened. With the species described here, a total of 29 species and one hybrid are now known from the Pilbara bioregion and its immediate surrounds.
Corrigendum
Corrigendum to: Marasmiusaustralotrichotus (Marasmiaceae), a new setose species from Australia, and an intriguing range extension for M.paratrichotus