Crustose Calicioid Lichens and Fungi in Mountain Cloud Forests of Tanzania.

A total of 26 crustose calicioid lichens and fungi were found in Tanzania. Most of them belong to a group of species with wide distributions in cool areas of both hemispheres and occasional occurrence in high mountains at low latitudes. In Tanzania calicioids mainly occur in the middle and upper forest zones and their niches are found on the bark of old trees and on lignum, most of them restricted to mountain cloud forests.

Phylogenetic position and taxonomy of gen. et sp. nov. (Polyporales).

A large polyporoid mushroom from the West Usambara Mountains in North-eastern Tanzania produces dark brown, up to 60-cm large fruiting bodies that at maturity may weigh more than 10 kg. It has a high rate of mycelial growth and regeneration and was found growing on both dry and green leaves of shrubs; attached to the base of living trees, and it was also observed to degrade dead snakes and insects accidentally coming into contact with it. Phylogenetic analyses based on individual and concatenated data sets of nrLSU, nrSSU and the RPB2 and TEF1 genes showed it, together with and , to form a monophyletic group in .

Folk taxonomy and use of mushrooms in communities around Ngorongoro and Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.

Background: Maasai and Kurya form two main communities around the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania which are mainly pastoralists. Changing climate to excessive drought, have recently forced them to start practicing subsistence farming which is severely affected by wild animals. This study explored status of the folk taxonomy and uses of mushrooms in the two communities as a pave way for possibilities of introducing mushroom cultivation, an alternative crop which is hardly affected by wild animals.