New distribution records of polyporoid fungi (Agaricomycetes: Basidiomycota) from India

: A descriptive account of four polypore species collected from Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Union Territory of Chandigarh has been provided. Among these, Fomes dahlii Henn., Ganoderma tsunodae (Yasuda ex Lloyd) Sacc., and Xanthoperenniporia maackiae (Bondartsev & Ljub.) B.K.Cui & Xing, Ji are described as new to India and Ganoderma tropicum (Jungh.) Bres., as new to Himachal Pradesh and Union Territory of Chandigarh.


INTRODUCTION
Polypores or polyporoid fungi represent an artificial assemblage of wood decaying fungi classified under various orders of Agaricomycetes of Basidiomycota (Kirk et al. 2008;Mycobank 2023). These fungi are characteristic in having annual to perennial, resupinate to effused-reflexed to pileate basidiocarps with gymnocarpic hymenium and poroid hymenophore. Polypores show remarkable variation with respect to micromorphological features such as hyphal system, ancillary structures, basidia and basidiospores. These fungi play vital role in the recycling of carbon due to their ability to degrade lingo-cellulosic substances of the wood. There are reports in literature about the use of fructifications of these fungi for curing many diseases (Dai et al. 2007;Song et al. 2008;Chen et al. 2016;Singh et al. 2016).

MATERIAL AND METHODS
The polypore fructifications were collected during the fungal forays executed in various localities of Himachal Pradesh The details pertaining to the type and nature of the fruiting body, colour, and appearance of abhymenial and hymenial surface and margins were noted down. The collected specimens were dried in an electric drier at temperature range of 40-45°C and preserved using 1,4-dichlorobenzene in zip lock bags.
For microscopic details, crush mount and free hand section preparations were made using 3%, 5%, & 10% KOH solutions, Congo red (1% in distilled water), Phloxine (1% in distilled water), Cotton blue (1% in lactophenol), Melzer's reagent (0.5 g iodine + 1.5 g KI + 20 g chloral hydrate + 20 ml distilled water), and water. The outline of different microscopic structures was drawn using compound microscope at 100x, 400x, and 1000x with the help of camera lucida. The colour standards are cited as per Kornerup & Wanscher (1978). The identified specimens were submitted to the Herbarium, Department of Botany, Punjabi University, Patiala (PUN).
Remarks: This species is peculiar in having laccate fruiting body, homogenous context and irregular hymenioderm and causes white rot of angiospermous wood (Ryvarden & Melo 2014). Ding (1989) described it as Ganoderma dahlii from China, Philippines and other parts of tropical and subtropical Asia. Presently it is described as Fomes dahlii following Mycobank (2023) and is a new record for India. Macroscopic characteristics: Fruiting body annual, pileate, pileus up to 5.8 × 6 × 1 cm, stipitate, solitary, subreniform, sub-flabelliform; abhymenial surface weakly laccate, more or less non laccate towards the margins, faintly zonate, yellowish-brown to reddish-brown when fresh, brownish-orange to violet brown on drying; pilear crust very thin; hymenial surface poroid, whitish when fresh, greyish-white to pale grey on drying; pores round to angular, 4-6 per mm; dissepiments up to 90 µm wide, entire; context homogenous, zonate, brown, up to 6 mm wide; tubes light brown to brown, up to 3 mm in depth;

Image 1. Localities of specimen collection.
stipe lateral, up to 3.2 cm long, and 2.2 cm wide, violet brown; margins obtuse, brownish orange on abhymenial side and pale grey on hymenial side, sterile up to 3 mm on hymenial side.
Remarks: This species is characteristic in having weakly laccate fruiting body, regular hymenioderm and smaller basidiospores. It is also reported to cause white rot of hard woods (Ryvarden & Melo 2014). Previously, Vinjusha & Kumar (2022) described it from different localities of Kerala. However, it being described for the Macroscopic characteristics: Fruiting body perennial, resupinate to effused-reflexed to pileate, pileus up to 1.7 × 1.2 × 2 cm, sessile, imbricate; abhymenial surface concentrically zonate, radially sulcate, light brown to brown when fresh, not changing much on drying; hymenial surface poroid, yellowish-white to orange white when fresh, not changing much on drying; pores round, 5-6 per mm; dissepiments up to 85 µm wide, entire; context homogenous, yellowish-white, up to 0.8 mm wide; tubes yellowish-white to orange white, indistinctly stratified, composed of two layers, each layer up to 0.6 mm in depth; margins acute, light brown on abhymenial side, yellowish white on hymenial side, sterile up to 1 mm on hymenial side.
Remarks: This species is peculiar in having resupinate to effused-reflexed fructifications with dimitic hyphal system and smaller, truncate basidiospores. It was earlier placed in genus Perenniporia and has been reported to cause white rot (Ryvarden & Melo 2014). As per Mycobank (2023) this species is distributed in China and Russia.

DISCUSSION
Among polyporoid genera being described presently the genera Ganoderma and Fomes have received greater attention of the mycologists due to their medicinal importance (Lee 2005;Joseph et al. 2009). The genus Ganoderma has been documented with 58 taxa while Fomes sensu stricto has been reported with only two taxa across India (Ranadive et al. 2011;Sharma 2012;Ranadive & Jagtap 2016;Manoharachary et al. 2022;www.fungifromindia.com). As far as the genus Xanthoperenniporia is concerned, one of the species, i.e., X. tenuis has earlier been described under

Threatened Taxa
Author details: Ms. Avneet Kaur is currently pursuing her PhD degree in the Department of Botany, Punjabi University, Patiala (Punjab). She has been working on the diversity of polyporoid fungi from Punjab. She has special interest in antioxidant and anticancer activity of medicinally important polyporoid fungi. She has described more than 50 taxa of polyporoid fungi from different parts of India. Dr. Avneet Pal Singh is working as assistant professor in the Department of Botany, Punjabi University, Patiala. His area of specialization is taxonomy, histopathology and evaluation of wood rotting corticioid and poroid fungi (Agaricomycetes, Basidiomycota) and has described nearly 300 taxa of these fungi based on morphological and DNA sequence based molecular phylogenetic studies. He has described 2 new genera and 22 new species of corticioid and poroid fungi. Dr. Saroj Arora is working as professor in Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (Punjab). She has more than 30 years of experience in research and development. She has special interest in metabolomics of medicinal plants, herbal formulations, isolation of natural compounds and their pharmacological activities against cancer of breast and liver, diabetes, diabetic wound, hungtington disease, skin diseases, etc. Mr. Ellu Ram has recently submitted his PhD thesis on the topic "Mycofloristic studies o corticioid and poroid fungi of district Kullu (Himachal Pradesh) in Department of Botany, Punjabi University, Patiala (Punjab). He has thoroughly surveyed district Kullu for the collections of these fungi described 136 taxa of corticioid and poroid fungi from the study area including 36 new records for India. Dr. Harpreet Kaur has worked on the diversity of pileare poroid fungi from Himachal Pradesh in Department of Botany, Punjabi University, Patiala (Punjab). She has conducted exhaustive fungal forays in various districts of Himachal Pradesh and has described 160 taxa of poroid fungi. She has described a large of new records for India and study area. Dr. Gurpaul Singh Dhingra retired as professor from Department of Botany, Punjabi University, Patiala (Punjab) and has more than 32 years of teaching and research experience. His area of specialization is mycology and plant pathology with special interest in corticioid and poroid fungi. He and has described large number of new genera and species of these fungi form different parts of India. He has worked on the antidiabetic, CNS and anticancer activity of medicinally important poroid fungi.