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Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Antarctica , Apenidiella antarctica from permafrost, Cladosporium fildesense from an unidentified marine sponge. Argentina , Geastrum wrightii on humus in mixed forest. Australia , Golovinomyces glandulariae on Glandularia aristigera, Neoanungitea eucalyptorum on leaves of Eucalyptus grandis, Teratosphaeria corymbiicola on leaves of Corymbia ficifolia, Xylaria eucalypti on leaves of Eucalyptus radiata. Brazil , Bovista psammophila on soil, Fusarium awaxy on rotten stalks of Zea mays, Geastrum lanuginosum on leaf litter covered soil, Hermetothecium mikaniae-micranthae (incl. Hermetothecium gen. nov.) on Mikania micrantha, Penicillium reconvexovelosoi in soil, Stagonosporopsis vannaccii from pod of Glycine max. British Virgin Isles , Lactifluus guanensis on soil. Canada , Sorocybe oblongispora on resin of Picea rubens. Chile , Colletotrichum roseum on leaves of Lapageria rosea. China , Setophoma caverna from carbonatite in Karst cave. Colombia , Lareunionomyces eucalypticola on leaves of Eucalyptus grandis. Costa Rica , Psathyrella pivae on wood. Cyprus , Clavulina iris on calcareous substrate. France , Chromosera ambigua and Clavulina iris var. occidentalis on soil. French West Indies , Helminthosphaeria hispidissima on dead wood. Guatemala , Talaromyces guatemalensis in soil. Malaysia , Neotracylla pini (incl. Tracyllales ord. nov. and Neotracylla gen. nov.) and Vermiculariopsiella pini on needles of Pinus tecunumanii. New Zealand , Neoconiothyrium viticola on stems of Vitis vinifera, Parafenestella pittospori on Pittosporum tenuifolium, Pilidium novae-zelandiae on Phoenix sp. Pakistan , Russula quercus-floribundae on forest floor. Portugal , Trichoderma aestuarinum from saline water. Russia , Pluteus liliputianus on fallen branch of deciduous tree, Pluteus spurius on decaying deciduous wood or soil. South Africa , Alloconiothyrium encephalarti, Phyllosticta encephalarticola and Neothyrostroma encephalarti (incl. Neothyrostroma gen. nov.) on leaves of Encephalartos sp., Chalara eucalypticola on leaf spots of Eucalyptus grandis × urophylla, Clypeosphaeria oleae on leaves of Olea capensis, Cylindrocladiella postalofficium on leaf litter of Sideroxylon inerme , Cylindromonium eugeniicola (incl. Cylindromonium gen. nov.) on leaf litter of Eugenia capensis , Cyphellophora goniomatis on leaves of Gonioma kamassi , Nothodactylaria nephrolepidis (incl. Nothodactylaria gen. nov. and Nothodactylariaceae fam. nov.) on leaves of Nephrolepis exaltata , Falcocladium eucalypti and Gyrothrix eucalypti on leaves of Eucalyptus sp., Gyrothrix oleae on leaves of Olea capensis subsp. macrocarpa , Harzia metrosideri on leaf litter of Metrosideros sp., Hippo pota myces phragmitis (incl. Hippo pota myces gen. nov.) on leaves of Phragmites australis , Lectera philenopterae on Philenoptera violacea , Leptosillia mayteni on leaves of Maytenus heterophylla , Lithohypha aloicola and Neoplatysporoides aloes on leaves of Aloe sp., Millesimomyces rhoicissi (incl. Millesimomyces gen. nov.) on leaves of Rhoicissus digitata , Neodevriesia strelitziicola on leaf litter of Strelitzia nicolai , Neokirramyces syzygii (incl. Neokirramyces gen. nov.) on leaf spots of Syzygium sp., Nothoramichloridium perseae (incl. Nothoramichloridium gen. nov. and Anungitiomycetaceae fam. nov.) on leaves of Persea americana , Paramycosphaerella watsoniae on leaf spots of Watsonia sp., Penicillium cuddlyae from dog food, Podocarpomyces knysnanus (incl. Podocarpomyces gen. nov.) on leaves of Podocarpus falcatus , Pseudocercospora heteropyxidicola on leaf spots of Heteropyxis natalensis , Pseudopenidiella podocarpi, Scolecobasidium podocarpi and Ceramothyrium podocarpicola on leaves of Podocarpus latifolius , Scolecobasidium blechni on leaves of Blechnum capense , Stomiopeltis syzygii on leaves of Syzygium chordatum , Strelitziomyces knysnanus (incl. Strelitziomyces gen. nov.) on leaves of Strelitzia alba , Talaromyces clemensii from rotting wood in goldmine, Verrucocladosporium visseri on Carpobrotus edulis. Spain , Boletopsis mediterraneensis on soil, Calycina cortegadensisi on a living twig of Castanea sativa , Emmonsiellopsis tuberculata in fluvial sediments, Mollisia cortegadensis on dead attached twig of Quercus robur , Psathyrella ovispora on soil, Pseudobeltrania lauri on leaf litter of Laurus azorica , Terfezia dunensis in soil, Tuber lucentum in soil, Venturia submersa on submerged plant debris. Thailand , Cordyceps jakajanicola on cicada nymph, Cordyceps kuiburiensis on spider, Distoseptispora caricis on leaves of Carex sp., Ophiocordyceps khonkaenensis on cicada nymph. USA , Cytosporella juncicola and Davidiellomyces juncicola on culms of Juncus effusus , Monochaetia massachusettsianum from air sample, Neohelicomyces melaleucae and Periconia neobrittanica on leaves of Melaleuca styphelioides × lanceolata , Pseudocamarosporium eucalypti on leaves of Eucalyptus sp . , Pseudogymnoascus lindneri from sediment in a mine, Pseudogymnoascus turneri from sediment in a railroad tunnel, Pulchroboletus sclerotiorum on soil, Zygosporium pseudomasonii on leaf of Serenoa repens. Vietnam , Boletus candidissimus and Veloporphyrellus vulpinus on soil. Morphological and culture characteristics are supported by DNA barcodes., (© 2019 Naturalis Biodiversity Center & Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute.)

A 40-year-old white male had a two-year history of right sided upper back pain without dyspnea or coughing. His past history was significant for allergic rhinitis and asthma. Conservative outpatient management of the back pain including medications, rest and physical therapy were ineffective. CT scan of the chest revealed a mass in the lower lobe of the right lung. Bronchial biopsy and lavage revealed eosinophilic and neutrophilic inflammation without tissue invasion. A pure culture of Bipolaris australiensis was confirmed by DNA typing. Hematological, serological and radiological studies were not compatible with Allergic Bronchopulmonary Mycosis (ABPM), fungus ball, hypersensitivity pneumonitis or invasive fungal infection. However, the mucus plugging may have represented an atypical localized form of ABPM. Resolution of the endobronchial mucus impaction occurred after three bronchoscopies with vigorous suction, anti fungal therapy and prednisone.

The international acronym PREM denotes the South African National Collection of Fungi, which houses approximately 60 000 specimens. The collection includes material from outside South Africa and contains representatives of all the major groups of fungi excluding the yeasts and pathogens of larger animals and man. The name PREM was derived from the city in which the collection is situated, Pretoria (PRE), and the M defines the collection as being mycological. The background information and historical facts presented in this paper are based on an unpublished manuscript, prepared by the co-author and then head of the collection A.P. Baxter, for the 90(th) celebration of PREM.The collection was established in 1905, when South Africa was still a British colony. The vision and hard work of the earlier scientists associated with it paved the way for the establishment of a number of present-day national research bodies. One of these, the Plant Protection Research Institute, is currently the custodian of the collection. Over time activities at PREM were influenced by socio-economic and political events, and most recently, the South African government's commitment to international biodiversity initiatives. Although the basic goals and needs to maintain PREM remained intact throughout, various phases in terms of research focus can be recognised over the past century. In the early days the emphasis was on collecting and recording of fungi, then pioneering research was done on mycotoxins and later there was an increased demand for public-good services and innovation. Since the 1980's sophisticated molecular techniques have aided in the discovery of true phylogenetic relationships of fungi, a fundamental field of systematics, that was previously impossible to explore by any other means. Against these advances, the value of reference collections is often questioned.New technologies should, however, not be pursued in isolation from other relevant factors. Improvement of agricultural practices, knowledge sharing and the protection and conservation of biota will always be important. Even so, the success and future of natural history collections depends on continued support from governing bodies, appreciation for our biological heritage and on inputs from the scientific community.

Several recent studies have reviewed the extent of fungal biodiversity, and have used these data as basis for revised estimates of species numbers based on known numbers of plants and insects. None of these studies, however, have focused on fungal biodiversity in South Africa. Coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the National Collection of Fungi (PREM) in South Africa in 2005, it is thus timely to reflect on the taxonomic research that has been conducted in South Africa over the past Century. Information is presented on the extent of fungal collections preserved at PREM, and the associated research publications that have largely resulted from this resource. These data are placed in context of the known plant and insect biodiversity, and used as basis to estimate the potential number of fungi that could be expected in South Africa. The conservative estimate is of approximately 200 000 species without taking into account those associated with a substantial insect biodiversity.