ALBERT

Description: Stereum peculiare spec. nov. and S. reflexulum Reid are described. Two new subgenera are distinguished in the genus Stereum: subg. Aculeatostereum and subg. Acanthostereum. The authors compare them with other genera having acanthophyses.

Description: At least three intersterile species have usually been confused in intertropical Africa under the name of P. involuta: P. involuta (Klotzsch apud. Fr.) Imazeki, P. vespillonea (Berk.) nov. comb. and P. gillesii nov. sp.

Description: The flabelliform Hymenochaete paucisetosa spec. nov. is described from Gabon. Its main character is the scantiness of setae, ten percent of which moreover have an unusual shape. The new species is compared with the more or less closely related species H. cacao, H. villosa and H. variegata. Its cultures have been studied and compared with the only three hitherto described cultures of species of Hymenochaete.

Description: Description of H. denticulata, a new species collected in R\xc3\xa9union; as in H. harpago L\xc3\xa9ger, H. pellicula Berk. & Br. and H. separabilis L\xc3\xa9ger, the setae bear small thorns. Hymenochaete denticulata is homothallic; denticulate setae and acanthophysate hyphae are observed in the mycelia.

Description: Some species from the malaysian peninsula are described; Vararia alticola, Corner & Boidin, sp. nov. \xe2\x80\x94 having a Fomes habit, essentially composed of dichophyses with a hyphal-like stipe. Vararia malaysiana Boid. & Lanq., sp. nov. \xe2\x80\x93 close to V. dussii Boid. & Lanq. from Guadeloupe and with which it gave a very incomplete, non lasting intercompatibility reaction. Also mentioned is V. sphaericospora Gilbertson having rather large basidiospores and many chlamydospores.\nThe following are recorded from Madagascar: V. cf. calami Boid. & Lanq. collected on Pinus sp. at high altitude, interincompatible with V. calami from Gabon; V. firma Boid. partially compatible with several central African specimens of V. firma: V. gomezii Boid. & Lanq. and V. trinidadensis Welden. The cultural characteristics of the last-mentioned are given. This is the first species of Vararia without clamps, which has shown to be really heterothallic. Vararia cinnamomea Boid., Lanq. & Gilles, sp. nov. is described and its mycelial characters are studied. This holocoenocytic species, without clamp connections, showed two types of interactions in pairings between monosporous strains, similar to certain strains of Stereum hirsutum (Coates et al., 1981) \xe2\x80\x93 a holocoenocytic species with rare, sometimes verticillate or paired, clamped connections. Tentatively we conclude, that these phenomena might be explained by the possible formation of heterokaryotic mycelia in certain pairings only (designated here by the letter \xe2\x80\x9cd\xe2\x80\x9d). But we would not like to go as far as Coates et al. who call these Phenomena heterothallism and polarity.\nFinally a description is given of V. parmastoi Boid. & Lanq., sp. nov. living on Juniperus at high altitudes in the meridional provinces of Soviet Asia. Its systematic position is debatable. It shows smooth, amyloid, cylindrical basidiospores, a white spore print, sulfocystidia, and dextrinoid dichophyses (at least after alkaline treatment at 60\xc2\xb0 C). Certain features relate it to the genus Amylostereum, especially the aspect, habitat, spores and sulfocystidia; but this genus is cystidiate and without dendrohyphidia. Peniophora subg. Cryptochaete (P. Karst.) Boid. & Lanq. (1974) is also brought to mind, except that V. parmastoi the spores are white and amyloid, and the dichophyses dextrinoid. Links with Vararia sect. Fusamyspora are also possible, but the basidia are not utriform and on various other points it seems rather unrelated to V. pectinata (Burt) Rog. & Jacks.

Description: In this paper some further African localities are recorded for Gloeodontia discolor, Flavodon flavus, and Stecchericium seriatum. In the genus Steccherinum five new species are described (S. confragosum, S. labeosum, S. russum, S. scalare, and S. scruposum), while three more are provisionally recognized, one of which being an unnamed member of the S. ochraceum group. A key to all species of Steccherinum thus far known from Africa is provided. For a number of the species their cultural and mycelial characteristics are given.