Poroid Fungi from Korup National Park, Cameroon
The bracket fungus Microporus xanthopus, one of over 70 poroid species known from the Korup rainforest, Cameroon
This project developed from the mycological surveys in Korup, the best known of all Cameroon's National Parks, by Peter Roberts. The collaborator, Prof. Leif Ryvarden of Oslo University, is the leading world specialist in poroid fungi. Poroid bracket fungi are among the most prominent of forest fungi, often producing large, perennially visible fruiting bodies. They are ecologically important as the main decomposers of dead and fallen wood, hence forming an essential part of the forest nutrient recycling system.
No enumeration of the poroid fungi of Cameroon or adjoining areas exists. This project seeks to identify all the available material of the group, which is primarily from Korup, arising from the surveys of Roberts, supplemented by specimens gathered by other Kew staff and collaborators. However, material from the rest of Cameroon will be included and details will be given of the known African distribution for each species. The result will be an authoritatively named, specimen-based annotated checklist, published in Kew Bulletin, to be produced by the end of 2007; all specimens will additionally be databased.
Project Team
Project Leader: Roberts, Peter
Herbarium
Martin Cheek
Jodrell Laboratory
Peter Roberts
Project Partners and Collaborators
Norway
University of Oslo