University of Alberta: 'A mini pot of gold': Researchers discover new tiny fungi species in Alberta

Several species of tiny fungi completely new to science — and all from Alberta — have been discovered through University of Alberta research.

Three new evolutionary groups and 13 new species of "stubble fungi" — so named because they resemble beard whiskers — have been identified and described through a 13-year study, which also reported an additional 29 species found in the province for the first time, including nine in Edmonton.

The findings bring the total number of what are known as calicioids to 73 in Alberta, and "show the undiscovered biodiversity we have right in our own backyard," says lichen scientist Diane Haughland, a lecturer in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences who led the study.

Found in areas ranging from a dog park in Edmonton's river valley and a southern Alberta farmyard to wetlands and foothills forests, the wee, pin-like fungi with large heads grow on shrubs like wild rose bushes and carragana hedges, on dead wood and on native Alberta trees such as alder, poplar and spruce.

The discovery highlights the incredible biodiversity that exists in seemingly ordinary environments and demonstrates the importance of continued taxonomic research in understanding ecosystem complexity.

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