o_19ko2dt161ng2j4e1tgnoqv1s45a.pdf

LEE SU SEE & ROY WATLING (2007)
worldwide and are highly significant contributions to the fungal flora of Malaysia. In 15
monographs covering just eight basidiomycete groupings, Corner described 621 new taxa of
Malaysian fungi (Table 1). These new discoveries mainly resulted from his collecting trips to
selected locations in the forests of Singapore, parts of Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang and
Mt. Kinabalu in Sabah. No doubt many more new taxa would have been discovered had the
collecting trips been extended to more areas in each location and to other locations in the
country. Considering that macrofungi are found in over 140 families in the basidiomycetes
(and this excludes the many larger Ascomycota), it is quite awe-inspiring to imagine the numbers
of new taxa that await discovery.
In addition to the monumental work of Corner, there are various publications on the macrofungal
diversity of specific localities in Malaysia, such as Pulau Langkawi (Kuthubutheen 1981), the
grounds of the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), Kepong (Watling & Lee 1995,
1998), Sabah (Pegler 1997), selected forest reserves in Peninsular Malaysia (Lee et al. 1995,
Watling & Lee 1999, Salmiah et al. 2002), and Pasoh Forest Reserve, Negeri Sembilan (Hattori
& Lee 2003, Lee et al. 2002, 2003). There are also several publications on ascomycetes from
Malaysia (e.g., Spooner 1991, Whalley 1993, Whalley et al. 1996, 1999) but these are not
considered in the present paper.
Table 1. New taxa of Malaysian macrofungi described in selected monographs of the late
Prof. E.J.H. Corner
Fungus Group No. new taxa Reference(s)
Amanita 30 Corner & Bas (1962)
Boletes 105 Corner (1972)
Cantharelloid fungi 24 Corner (1966)
Clavarioid fungi 9 Corner (1970)
Pleurotoid polypores 15 Corner (1981)
Polypores 172 Corner (1983, 1984a, 1984b,
1987, 1989a, 1989b, 1991a)
Thelephora and allies 18 Corner (1968)
Tricholomataceous agarics:
Mycenoid and tricholomatoid 103 Corner (1994)
components
Marasmioid components 93 Corner (1996)
Trogia 52 Corner (1991b)
Note: several species have varieties, which are not included here.
A recent study of polypores in East and South-East Asia (Hattori 2004) found that South-East
Asia possesses a rich diversity of polypore fungi, many of which are possibly endemic. South-
East Asia is considered a refugia during the Pleistocene and is the centre of distribution for
several species (Table 2). Of the 208 species of polypore fungi found in Pasoh, Negeri Sembilan
between 1992 and 1999, seven were temperate species, 33 pantropical, 24 paleotropical and
144 found only in South-East Asia showing that many were probably endemic (Hattori 2004).
Data on macrofungal diversity may also be obtained from publications dealing with other
aspects of macrofungi, for example, those dealing with utilization, e.g., Burkill (1966), Sather
(1978), Chin (1981, 1988) and Christensen (2002). However, data from some of the older
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