Gasteromycetes of Corsica: taxonomy, ecology and distribution | Les gasteromycetes de Corse: taxonomie, ecologie, chorologie

The floristic list of the Gasteromycetes of Corsica has been brought to 63 species including 17 new for the island and a new one for science (Rhizopogon corsicus Demoulin et Moyersoen). Each species is described and illustrated; the descriptions are based exclusively on Corsican material; this allows the morphological comparison between this material and that from other regions. The distribution and ecology of these species in Corsica are discussed. The work includes a taxonomical and nomenclatural revision of some species of the Bovista subgenus Globaria, which are particularly abundant in the island. Good descriptions have been made for scarce taxa like Alpova diplophloeus f. europaeus or Torrendia pulchella. The presence of 30 species in the littoral sand dunes shows that this environment is particularly favourable for the Gasteromycetes. A lot of species probably are not sensitive to the deposit of salts due to the spray. This is also observable in the littoral maquis growing on rocky shores. Some species like for exemple Tulostoma fimbriatum, an undescribed Tulostoma, Geastrum campestre, Geastrum floriforme, Geastrum nanum, Geastrum pseudolimbatum, Rhizopogon vulgaris and Gyrophragmium dunalii seem to grow only in littoral dunes. The relatively high number of species found until now in Corsica (comparable to the material studied by Calonge and Demoulin, 1975, for Spain), in comparison with those found in Belgium, which area is larger and much more explored (61 species, Demoulin, 1969), shows that the Corsican mycological flora is remarkably rich. The list of species established in this work is anyway preliminary, and the total flora may even be richer. Future efforts should especially be directed toward hypogeous fungi as well as to the exploration of areas wich have provided less material until now, like the schistous Corsica and the "Sillon central".