Of the estimated 1.5 million species of fungi, only 5% are presently known to science, but even this small fraction includes a bewildering variety of forms and ecological types. Recent Tree of Life studies have begun to clarify the complex relationships observed in most fungal groups, and new discoveries aid in this effort. A new species of Marchandiomyces, discovered recently in Australia by Guy Marson and described in this issue, is helping to shed light on the remarkable nutritional diversity of the basidiomycete order Corticiales, which includes saprophytes, plant and fungal pathogens, lichen-forming fungi, and now leaf-inhabiting (foliicolous) species. The new species produces small, coral bulbils (inset) on the dead leaves of screw pines (Pandanus oblatus). These bulbils, which probably function as resting or dispersal structures, resemble apothecia of the ascomycete genus Orbilia, which Marson was collecting at the time. This first Marchandiomyces species described from Australia is unusual not only in appearance, but also in ecology. A new molecular phylogeny of the Corticiales, including M. marsonii, makes clear that Marchandiomyces species contribute significantly to the nutritional diversity of the order.

For further detail: see Lawrey et al.