Hypocreodendron sanguineum is saprobic on waste material of ant nests presumably of some species of the genera Atta and Acromyrmex. The fungus was found mostly related to waste piles
outside the nests of ant species that live in areas with temperate to subtropical climates that go through a dryer stage during the year, and most of them in urban areas or near to urban areas. Even though it could occur along its hosts distribution, it has only been observed and reported a small number of times. With a long history of mycological studies in Latin America and with a striking fungal appearance (stromata 2,5 cm high with a red apical disc) this fungus was recorded only in 13 sites, most of them in Mexico (4 sites) and Argentina (6 sites), but it also occurs in Brazil, Guatemala, and Uruguay with only one record for each country. The habitat of this fungus could be under high levels of disturbance because of the destruction of the ant nests primarily by pesticides and secondarily by edification, human transit and firewalls. Further targeted surveys within the range of its ants host will be required to better understand the status and trend of H. sanguineum populations, as well as to delimit its occurrence range. Therefore, the present assessment is Data Deficient (DD).

Hypocreodendron sanguineum Henn., Hedwigia 36(4): 223 (1897) (asexual state)
Syn: Discoxylaria myrmecophila J.C. Lindq. & J.E. Wright [as ´mirmecophila´], Darwiniana 13: 139 (1964) (sexual state)
Hennings (1897) described Hypocreodendron Henn. based upon H. sanguineum Henn. from material collected in Córdoba, Argentina.

Hypocreodendron sanguineum is saprobic on waste material of ant nests presumably of some species of the genera Atta and Acromyrmex. The fungus was found mostly related to waste piles
outside the nests of ant species that live in areas with temperate to subtropical climates that go through a dryer stage during the year, and most of them in urban areas or near to urban areas. Even though it could occur along its hosts distribution, it has only been observed and reported a small number of times. With a long history of mycological studies in Latin America and with a striking fungal appearance this fungus was recorded only in 13 sites, most of them in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Guatemala, and Uruguay.

This species occurs around ant waste piles of the genera Acromyrmex and Atta. It is registered in 13 localities within America: Bahía Blanca, La Plata, Capital Federal (Buenos Aires province - Argentina), Alta Gracia, Ischilín, and Sierra Chica
(Córdoba Province - Argentina), in Porto Alegre (Brazil), in San Marcos La Laguna (Guatemala), in Jalisco, Morelos, Nuevo León, Veracruz (Mexico) and in Montevideo (Uruguay) (Herbário do ICN, 1986; Lindquist & Wright, 1959, 1964; López & García, 2008; Medel et al., 2008;
mushroomobserver.org 2017; Pérez-Silva, 1974). The species is expected to potentially occur along its hosts distribution, that ranges from the south of the USA to the north of the Argentinian Patagonia. However, it seems that the species requires specific environmental niches (Farji-Brener et al. 2016).

Although both associated genera of ants are distributed globally, Hypocreodendron sanguineum occurs, based on current knowledge, only in America. Since its first description 125 years ago, the fungus has been registered in 13 sites and particularly in Bahía Blanca where it was originally described, after many years of mycological studies it has only been seen occasionally three times. In Mexico where it was mostly documented it is also considered a rare species because of its low frequency of appearance (Medel et al. 2008). The habitat of this fungus could be under high levels of disturbance because of the destruction of the ant nests primarily by pesticides and secondarily by edification, human transit and firewalls. Based on the paucity of data on its habitat and ecology, it is not possible to better understand the number of possible sites that the species may occupy, nor its population size.

Hypocreodendron sanguineum is saprobic on waste material of ant nests presumably of some species of the genera Atta and Acromyrmex. The fungus was found mostly related to waste piles outside the nests of ant species that live in areas with temperate to subtropical climates that go
through a dryer stage at least once during the year, and most of them in urban areas or near to urban areas. It is expected to occur along its host’s distribution but only areas that presents a relatively dry period, and other unclear environmental characteristics.

This infrequent fungus is always associated with the ants, so the threats they suffer directly affects the fungus. It was found that the breaking up of soils, for example, for the construction of roads or firewalls, negatively affects the diversity of ants (Tizón, 2011). On the other hand, these insects
cause high levels of destruction of crops and gardens, so they are combated with insecticides and pesticides (Lucía & Battaglino, 2006).

It is very difficult to propose actions to promote the conservation of a fungal species associated with an insect considered an important threat to crops, but when the ecological relation of the fungus with the ant is elucidated they may be established.

It is needed to enlarge knowledge about the distribution of the species and specially on its relation to the ants: if it is specifically related to some species of Acromyrmex and Atta or not, or if its relation to them is unspecific but produced by their habits influenced by the environmental conditions. Also, it is important to better understand the possible treats and its conservation actions.

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