Wood-rotting fungi in East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya, northeast India, with special reference to Heterobasidion perplexa (a rare species ‒ new to India)

Abstract

Field surveys and collection of the basidiocarps of wood-rotting fungi were carried out in eight forest stands of East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya, India. Seventy eight wood-rotting fungi belonging to 23 families were identified. The undisturbed Mawphlang sacred grove was found to harbour a much larger number of the wood-rotting fungi (33.54 %) as compared to the other forest stands studied. Similarly, logs also harboured the maximum number of wood-rotting fungi (59.7 %) while living trees harboured the least (7.8%). Microporus xanthopus had the highest frequency percentage of occurrence with 87.5 %, followed by Cyclomyces tabacinus, Microporus affinis and Trametes versicolor with 62.5 %. Majority of the wood-rotting fungi are white-rot fungi (89.61%) and only few are brown-rots. A rare species of wood-rotting fungus, Heterobasidion perplexa which has been reported only from Nepal, was found growing on stumps and logs of Pinus kesiya in two collection sites. This fungus is new to India.