Pseudolagarobasidium (Basidiomycota): On the reinstatement of a genus of parasitic, saprophytic, and endophytic resupinate fungi

The small resupinate genus Pseudolagarobasidium (Polyporales, Basidiomycota) presently comprises less than five species, all of which were described from tropical to subtropical regions, and two of which are root parasites on leguminous trees. The genus has recently been synonymized with Radulodon on morphological grounds, and the present study evaluates this proposal in a molecular context. Pseudolagarobasidium was found to constitute a well supported, monophyletic group excluding Radulodon and this synonymy is rejected. The ecological range of the genus spans saprotrophy to parasitism, and this study presents evidence that at least one lineage in Pseudolagarobasidium is endophytic in the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao L.). © 2008 NRC.