Assessment Notes

Justification

Hymenochaete damicornis is currently considered a parasite on the roots of live woody plants. It is a widespread fungus, with more than 800 records from throughout the Neotropical region from Mexico to Argentina. There is no evidence of the species facing any clear threats and a decline in population size has not been detected. So, despite being found in phytogeographic domains known to be under environmental pressures (e.g. Amazon, Atlantic Forest region and Cerrado of Brazil), the species is repeatedly found throughout the Neotropical region. The population size is likely to be very large since this is such a widespread species, and with no indication of decline it is assessed as Least Concern (LC).

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Geographic range

The neotype of this species is from Brazil (São Leopoldo). In the Neotropical region, it is recorded for Brazil, within the domains of the Amazon, Cerrado, and Atlantic Forest. Within in Brazil it has a wide occurrence in the north (e.g. Acre, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima), northeast (e.g. Alagoas, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Sergipe), midwest (Mato Grosso), southeast (São Paulo), and south (e.g. Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina).

It has also been cited for the Caribbean and North America (Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico), Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Panama), and other South American countries (Peru, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Suriname, Bolivia, Guyana, French Guiana) (Ryvarden 1985, Azevedo and Guerrero 1993, Baltazar and Gibertoni 2009, Gomes-Silva and Gibertoni 2009, Gibertoni et al. 2012, GBIF 2023, Reflora 2024).

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Population and Trends

The species has at least 810 records (GBIF 2023) throughout the Neotropical region. Despite being found in phytogeographic domains known to be under environmental preassures (e.g. Amazon, Atlantic Forest region and Cerrado), the species is repeatedly found across the Neotropical region, seemingly a common species with broad distribution. The population size is likely to be very large and stable since this is such a widespread species and with no indication of any decline.

Population Trend: stable

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Habitat and Ecology

Hymenochaete damicornis is currently considered a parasite on the roots of live woody plants, also found on the roots of Bambusa sp. (Ryvarden 1985), but further work is required to see if it may be mycorrhizal.

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Threats

There are no major threats to this species. It is commonly and widely found in Neotropical region.

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Conservation Actions

No conservation measures are needed for this species since it is widespread and there are no major threats to it. Further research is needed to confirm whether it is a parasitic or mycorrhizal species. If it is proven to be mycorrhizal, it is necessary to investigate which plant species this fungus associates with.

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Use and Trade

There is no use or trade of this species.

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Source and Citation

Monteiro, M., Costa-Rezende, D.H., Trierveiler-Pereira, L., Baltazar, J., Canêz, L., Calaça, F. & Alves-Silva, G. 2024. Hymenochaete damicornis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024: e.T265909406A265909820. .Accessed on 30 October 2024

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• Country occurrence