Alder tongue fungus - correct name sought

[nutmeg]

I don't often venture into the fungi forums, but thought I'd seek some clarification of the identity of a plant gall.

This is Alder Tongue fungus and I used Redfern & Shirley's British Plant Galls to identify it as Taphrina alni. It's been in my Flickr Gallery for a while with that ID, but recently a couple of people have asked why it isn't T. amentorum. Redfern & Shirley have the latter as an alternative (previous?) name - and searching NBN Gateway for both names comes up with T. alni. I tried to explain this to the people querying the T. alni ID, but they're saying that they are different species rather than just the one.

I'm hoping one of you fungi people can enlighten me (and that my rather garbled post makes sense)!

[Chris Yeates]

hi

it's an interesting one . . . I'm sure that the two names refer to the same fungus, and indeed, as you say, NBN Gateway (based as it is on the British Mycological Society's Fungal Records Database) treats them as the same

Index Fungorum still maintains both names as being 'current';
however IF is really a nomenclatural list - not a taxonomic one; it does not 'synonymize' things in general . . .

I would therefore tell your colleagues that Taphrina alni is the correct name for your fungus and that two species are not involved

regards

Chris

[flaxton]

Nutmeg

The BMS database says you are correct in calling it Taphrina alni one of its psudonims is T amentorum

Mal

[nutmeg]

Thanks for clarifying things, Chris and Mal - appreciated.