Complements au genre Vararia P. Karst. (Basidiomycetes)

Some species from the malaysian peninsula are described; Vararia alticola, Corner & Boidin, sp. nov. — having a Fomes habit, essentially composed of dichophyses with a hyphal-like stipe. Vararia malaysiana Boid. & Lanq., sp. nov. – 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. The 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) – 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 “d”). But we would not like to go as far as Coates et al. who call these Phenomena heterothallism and polarity. Finally 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° 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.