Tremelloscypha gelatinosa (Sebacinales) from tropical deciduous Gymnopodium forests in southern Mexico

Populations of Tremelloscypha gelatinosa were found growing on the soil in Gymnopodium floribundum associations of the tropical deciduous forest in southern Mexico (State of Chiapas). Documentation of the different developmental coriaceous and spongy stages revealed a widely variable gross morphology that ranges from stipeless pulvinate forms to rudimentarily stipitate pseudoinfundibuliform forms that appear polyporoid, steroid, or gomphoid. The studied collections are described and their taxonomically distinctive macro- and micromorphological characters are illustrated. The possible mycorrhizal association of T. gelatinosa with Gymnopodium floribundum and traditional use of the basidiomes as a wild edible fungus by the local population are also discussed.