This species has been described occurring on Chusquea scandens. It is the only known host, and therefore the fungus is likely limited by the host’s area of occupancy (< 2,000 km²), which is categorized as Vulnerable. We recommend further research to confirm host specificity. Therefore, this species is precautionarily assessed as Critically Endangered under criterion B2ab(ii, iii, iv).

Aleurodiscus andinus Núñez & Ryvarden, Syn. Fung.
Stereaceae
Russulales
Agaricomycetes
Agaricomycotina
Basidiomycota
Fungi

The species is characterized by its resupinate, annual, thin, corticioid basidiomata, measuring 1.5 × 4 mm and 100 μm thick, with a smooth, pale yellow surface and a cream-colored hymenium. Microscopically, it presents a monomitic hyphal system composed of generative hyphae with simple septa that are difficult to visualize, with thin to slightly thickened walls in the subiculum, 3–8 μm wide, finely fused and without clamp connections. Gloeocystidia are abundant, clavate, slightly moniliform, hyaline to yellowish with granular contents (40–90 × 6–16 μm). Dendrohyphidia are abundant among the basidia, sparsely to highly branched, with rounded apices and up to 60 μm long; acanthophyses are absent. Basidia are clavate (45–65 × 6–10 μm), with four sterigmata, and the basidiospores are oblong-ellipsoidal, smooth, and thin-walled (12–14 × 7–8 μm). (Núñez & Ryvarden, 1997).

Aleurodiscus andinus is a rare corticioid fungal species, described from its single type specimen collected in 1978 in the Colombian Andes. Knowledge of this species is limited, as no new records have been obtained since its original description, making it difficult to determine its distribution range and the current status of its populations. A. andinus grows on Chusquea scandens, a woody bamboo characteristic of high Andean forests that are subject to anthropogenic pressures. Its possible restriction to this host, together with ongoing habitat loss, highlights its risk. For these reasons, it is necessary to assess the species within the IUCN Red List in order to promote additional studies and conservation actions that may help clarify its current status.

Aleurodiscus andinus is a endemic to the Colombian Andes and appears to be restricted to the distribution of its host, Chusquea scandens Kunth. To date, it is known only from its type locality, recorded at kilometer 23 on the road that connects the highway to Medellín with the municipality of Tenjo, department of Cundinamarca, Colombia, where it was collected on June 4, 1978, at an elevation of 2600 m a.s.l. Even though the species has been recorded in only one locality, the potential area of occupancy (AOO) per IUCN guidelines is assessed as <2000 km2, and severely fragmented.

The population trend is unknown, although it can be inferred that they are in decline due to the transformation and fragmentation of the ecosystems in the area where it was first recorded. The species is known from one location.

Aleurodiscus andinus is a saprophytic fungus that grows on the wood of Chusquea scandens Kunth, known in older literature as Bambusa chusquea (Kunth) Steud. This woody bamboo species is highly abundant in high Andean forests and limits the growth of other plant species within these ecosystems (Ramirez-Narváez & Velasco-Linares, 2016). A. andinus could potentially be found in other areas of the Colombian Andes between 2,500 and 3,000 m a.s.l., as well as in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru, where its host is also present (WFO, 2025). It is unknown whether this species can be developed on other substrates.

The main threat to A. andinus is habitat loss and degradation associated with deforestation, agricultural expansion, and urbanization in the Colombian Andes, especially in the department of Cundinamarca. These processes have significantly reduced the cover of high Andean forests. In addition, the fact that the species is only known from the type locality increases its threats to habitat alterations. Its host, C. scandens, has an area of occupancy smaller than 2,000 km², which categorizes it as Vulnerable. The threats impacting C. scandens include agriculture, cattle farming, and logging. All these pressures negatively affect the fungal species, since C. scandens is its only known host.

Protection of the species’ host and habitat is needed as well as habitat restoration. Research into the full geographic range needs to be conducted, focusing in particular on all areas occupied by its host, Chusquea scandens. Such studies could also help to estimate the population size and potential rate of decline. Research into host specificity would be useful to confirm whether it only grows on Chusquea scandens. Currently, there are no conservation actions for A. andinus.

There is no use/trade of this species