Postia ptychogaster, an unusual two-stage polypore new to Italian mycobiota

Abstract

Postia ptychogaster is reported from Italy for the first time. It was collected on a dead rotten trunk of Abies alba in a natural park, and was associated with a brown cubical rot. This species is well characterized by basidiomes closely associated with a typical Ptychogaster anamorphic stage forming large conidiomata. A full description, including photographs of both basidiomes and conidiomata and line drawings of microscopic characters, is provided.