Glomus lamellosum (Glomales, Zygomycotina), an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal species new for Poland and Europe

Morphological properties of spores of Glomus lamellosum (Glomales, Zygomycota), an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus for the first time found in Poland and Europe, are described and illustrated. Additionally, the characteristics of the mycorrhizae formed by this fungus in one-species pot cultures with Plantago lanceolata as the plant host are presented. Glomus lamellosum produced yellowish white to light yellow ectocarpic spores with a 3-layered wall: a hyaline, semipermanent outermost layer forming a halo under reflected light, a yellowish white to light yellow, laminate middle layer, and a very thin, hyaline, flexible innermost layer staining pinkish white to pastel red in Melzer's reagent. The mycorrhizae formed by this fungus in P. lanceolata roots comprised arbuscules, vesicles, as well as intra- and extramatrical hyphae; all the structures stained darkly in trypan blue. Glomus lamellosum was found in six soil samples coming from maritime sand dunes adjacent to Swinoujscie in northwestern Poland and in six soils collected from inland dunes of the Bledowska Desert located in the south of this country. This fungus was earlier encountered only in sandy habitats of the Great Lakes region of Canada and U.S.A.