Chromosera cyanophylla (Basidiomycota, Agaricales) – a rare fungus of Central European old-growth forests and its habitat preferences in Europe

Chromosera cyanophylla basidiomata found in Boubinsky prales virgin forest, Czech Republic, are described. The pileus colour was a mixture of green, yellow, olive, ochre, orange and brown tinges. A DNA study focused on ITS rDNA sequences confirmed significant differences between Eurasian and North American collections. Data on-substrate and habitat preferences of published European records are evaluated. C. cyanophylla is a rare species which is, however, ecologically flexible. It occurs on decaying to strongly decayed fallen trunks and stumps of conifers, mostly Abies alba and Picea abies, rarely Pinus cembra. Vertically, it is distributed up to 500 m a.s.l. in Scandinavia and from 350 to 2000 m a.s.l. in other parts of Europe. It is known from the hemiboreal to boreal zone of Scandinavia, (sub)montane and/or subalpine belts of West and Central Europe and uplands in Germany and Slovakia. In the uplands, most records originate from forests located not far from big rivers. In the core part of Central Europe, C. cyanophylla clearly prefers mixed montane old-growth forests composed of Fagus, Abies and Picea and protected as nature reserves, mostly for a long time. Phytosociologically, they represent mixed Beech woods. In the Alps, C. cyanophylla is rarely found in montane to subalpine Spruce woods, Green Alder scrubs with dead wood of conifers introduced by avalanches, and subalpine Larch-Arolla Pine woods