o_19ko2dt161ng2j4e1tgnoqv1s45a.pdf

LEE SU SEE & ROY WATLING (2007)
STATUS OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY IN MALAYSIA &
THREAT ASSESSMENT OF PLANT SPECIES IN MALAYSIA
MACROFUNGAL DIVERSITY IN MALAYSIA
1
Lee Su See & 2, 3 Roy Watling
ABSTRACT
Macrofungi, also known as macromycetes or larger fungi, are fungi, which possess large
(macroscopic) sporocarps or fruiting bodies. Many macrofungi are important as sources of
food and medicine; some are symbionts in ectomycorrhizal associations with trees while others
cause diseases and decay. It is estimated that up to about 70% of the fungi in Malaysia have
yet to be discovered. This paper discusses the status of macrofungal diversity in Malaysia and
shows that the existing figures for the number of species of Malaysian fungi are grossly
underestimated. Much research still needs to be done before a clearer understanding of the
status of macrofungal (and total fungal) diversity in Malaysia can be obtained and the resources
needed for such an undertaking are discussed in the paper.
INTRODUCTION
Malaysia, one of the world’s 12 most biologically diverse countries, is known to possess over
15,000 species of flowering plants, 286 species of mammals, more than 150,000 species of
invertebrates, over 1,000 species of butterflies, 12,000 moth species, and more than 4,000
species of marine fishes (WCMC 1994). Yet amazingly, according to the Assessment of
Biological Diversity in Malaysia (Anonymous 1997), there are only 400 species of fungi in
the peninsula and 300 species in East Malaysia. The report does not mention whether any
species are common to the two regions.
An assessment of all the fungi known to occur in Malaysia would be a monumental and time
consuming task requiring access to numerous libraries and fungal collections around the world.
As the time given for preparation of this paper was rather short, we restrict ourselves to a
discussion of the diversity of only the basidiomycete macrofungi here, which still is a
considerable task.
Macrofungi, also known as macromycetes or larger fungi, are fungi which possess large
(macroscopic) sporocarps or fruiting bodies (Hawksworth et al. 1995) visible to the naked
eye as opposed to the microfungi or micromycetes which possess microscopic sporomes. For
the purpose of this paper Singapore is geographically considered part of Malaysia, thus reports
1
Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, 52109 Selangor, Malaysia; leess@frim.gov.my
2
Caledonian Mycological Enterprises, 26 Blinkbonny Avenue, Edinburgh EH4 3HU, U.K.
3
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, EH3 5LR, U.K.
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