List of Armillaria species


Armillaria is a genus of fungi commonly known as honey mushrooms. First treated by Elias Magnus Fries in 1821, and later assigned generic rank by Friedrich Staude in 1857, Armillaria is classified in the family Physalacriaceae of the Agaricales, the gilled mushrooms. The majority of species in Armillaria are saprotrophic and live mainly on dead wood, but some are parasites that can cause root and butt rot in over 600 species of woody plants. Some Armillaria species form mycorrhizae with orchids; others, such as A. gallica, A. mellea, and A. tabescens, are bioluminescent.
Armillaria species form fleshy, white-spored mushrooms with a cottony or membranous veil that typically forms a distinct annulus on the stem. The fruit bodies usually occur in autumn in large clusters at the base of the stem or roots. Armillaria species can produce rhizomorphs—rootlike aggregations of hyphae—that can form massive, long-lasting underground networks. The growth of the rhizomorph networks allows for tree-to-tree spread of the fungus even when direct contact between diseased and healthy plants is not possible.
The genus once served as a wastebasket taxon for many agaric mushrooms with a white spore print, gills attached to the stem, and an annulus. Due largely to differing interpretations on the limits of the genus, over 270 species and varieties have been placed in Armillaria or its synonym Armillariella. A comprehensive 1995 study by Tom Volk and Harold Burdsall evaluated all of the epithets that have been used in Armillaria or Armillariella. They determined that about 40 species belong to Armillaria sensu stricto ; the remaining names belong to species that are distributed among 43 other modern fungal genera.
Many species are difficult or impossible to distinguish from each other using observable characteristics; laboratory incompatibility tests are often used on pure cultures to reliably determine species. Because of the difficulties posed by routine species identification, the use of DNA sequencing and phylogenetic approaches has become a standard method to help clarify relationships between species. Species differ in their geographical distribution and ecological position, host specificity, microscopic and macroscopic features, and also in their aggressiveness in colonizing wood hosts. The following list of Armillaria species is based on the taxonomic overviews provided by Volk and Burdsall in 1995, David Pegler in 2000, and reports of new species that have been published since then.

Species

;Key to the table of species below:
NameThe binomial name of the Armillaria species.
AuthorityThe author citation—the person who first described the species using an available scientific name, eventually combined with the one who placed it in Armillaria, and using standardized abbreviations.
YearThe year in which the species was named, or transferred to the genus Armillaria. Where the actual year of publication differs from the date given in the material, the latter date is given in quotes.
DistributionThe distribution of the species; unless otherwise indicated, this information is obtained from Volk and Burdsall, and Pegler.

NameAuthority YearDistribution
Armillaria affinis1995
Armillaria altimontana2012Western North America
Armillaria apalosclera1982
Asia
Armillaria borealisMarxm. & Korhonen1982Eurasia
Armillaria calvescensBérubé & Dessur.1989Eastern North America
Armillaria camerunensis1995Africa
Armillaria cepistipesVelen.1920
Armillaria duplicata1887India
Armillaria ectypa1965Europe
Armillaria fellea1983Australia
Armillaria fumosaKile & Watling1983Australia
Armillaria fuscipesPetch1909
Armillaria gallicaMarxm. & Romagn.1987
Armillaria geminaBérubé & Dessur.1989Eastern North America
Armillaria griseomellea1983North and South America
Armillaria heimiiPegler1977Africa
Armillaria hinnuleaKile & Watling1983Australasia
Armillaria jezoensisJ.Y.Cha & Igarashi1994Japan
Armillaria limonea1977
Armillaria luteobubalinaWatling & Kile1978
Armillaria mellea1871
Armillaria melleorubens1887North and Central America
Armillaria montagnei1973
Armillaria nabsnonaT.J.Volk & Burds.1996
Armillaria novae-zelandiae1973
Armillaria omnituens1887India
Armillaria pallidulaKile & Watling1988Australia
Armillaria paulensisCapelari2008South America
Armillaria pelliculataBeeli1927Africa
Armillaria proceraSpeg.1889South America
Armillaria puiggariiSpeg.1889South America
Armillaria sinapinaBérubé & Dessur.1988
Armillaria singulaJ.Y.Cha & Igarashi1994
Armillaria socialis1889
Armillaria solidipesPeck1900
Armillaria sparrei1973North and South America
Armillaria tabescens1921
Armillaria tigrensis1983South America
Armillaria umbrinobrunnea2010South America
Armillaria viridiflava1995
Armillaria yungensis1973South America

Cited literature