News from the Italian Parks
In the San Rossore Park a new mushroom species has been discovered
A mushroom species called Schildia sancti-luxurii - in honor of the Saint the San Rossore Estate was named after - was found in the Migliarino San Rossore Massaciuccoli Nature Park: it is stated by two mycologists from Pisa, Paolo Franchi and Mauro Marchetti, experts on the mushrooms of the protected area and authors of some thematic publications, in particular of an inventory reviewing, also from a historical perspective, all the mushrooms present in the different park's estates.
The mushroom was observed for the first time by Franchi and Marchetti in the late 2013 on the edge of the Gombo path, and it was picked up again one year later to be studied with greater attention. At the beginning the two experts - belonging to the "Bresadola" mycologic association having about 13,000 members - thought the mushroom was a common specimen belonging to the "ramarioidi" family, but a careful analysis revealed a substantial difference with mushrooms having a similar appearance.
Genetical analyses compared the mushroom organic samples with the information available in the GenBank international database, an american database containing millions of DNA sequences, and it was proved that the Schildia sancti-luxurii remarkably differs, from the genetical point of view, from other already classified mushrooms. Therefore, a new genus has been created - which has been named after Edwin Schild, a mycologist and one of world's most eminent researchers studying the mushroom family which, in the beginning, it was thought the new mushroom belonged to - within which the new species has been included.
The Schildia sancti-luxurii had been observed in the San Rossore Estate also in autumn 2015, which was a confirmation of its quite permanent presence in the Park's clearings. In their publication the authors recall the great biodiversity richness of our region and especially in the Migliarino San Rossore Massaciuccoli Nature Park, where over the years more than 1,400 mushroom species have been registered.
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