Summary

Description

Fruiting body collections of higher fungi, basidiomycetes and ascomycetes, were made during a twelve day field study on two of Alaskas Aleutian Islands, Amchitka and Adak. A total of 163 fungal collections were made. Of this total, 130 collections were basidiomycetes; 21 collections were ascomycetes; 11 were asco and basidiolichens; and 1 was a myxomycete. The period from 22 August to 26 August, 1975, was spent on Adak where 51 collections were made, and of those 36 were basidiomycetes and 13 were ascomycetes. From 26 August to 2 September, 1975, collecting was restricted to Amchitka where 112 collections were made, and of these 94 were basidiomycetes, 8 were ascomycetes and 10 were lichens. The fungi, in total, represented 33 genera in 17 families of basidiomycetes, 5 genera in 4 families of ascomycetes and 1 myxomycete. Three species of imperfect fungi have been isolated from hair grass. Deschampsia sp., and are being cultured for study. Collections of higher fungi were made from several habitats on Adak and from all three topoenvironments on Amchitka. Fungi found on Amchitka were most commonly associated with the transitional region between lowland and upland crowberrysedge and crowberrygrasssedge communities. One truly mycorrhizal species, in the genus Russula, was found on Amchitka. All other fungi were thought to be saprobic decomposers. The genera composite represented a late spring and summer flora common to lower latitudes. The maritime tundra mycoflora was distinct and showed almost no similarity to the mycoflora of the Arctic tundra.