Macromycetes in the Greek grasslands

As part of a long lasting project on recording and studying the Greek mycoflora, 52 species of Macrofungi were recorded in grasslands of Greece. Forty-five species were recorded solely in grasslands while 7 species were found also in other types of forest ecosystems. The distributions of these species in the different elevation zones were: Low-elevation – 41, Middle -16, High-elevation – 16 and Subalpine-10 species. Similarly, the distribution of the 255 records was low-elevation-159, Middle-44, High-elevation-31 and Subalpine-21. Certain species such as Calvatia utriformis and Agaricus sylvaticus were found only in the High-elevation and Subalpine zones while others such as Marasmius oreades and Stropharia coronilla were recorded mainly in the Low- and Middleelevation zones. The majority, however, were found in a wider altitude range. As a conclusion more species occur and more frequent fruiting appears in the Low- and Middle-elevation zones. 71,1% of the recorded species produced their carpophores in the autumn and only 12,2% in the summer. Similarly, 74,5% of the recordings was accomplished in the autumn and only 5,9% were recorded in the summer months. Out of the 52 recorded species only one is considered poisonous while 31 others are not edible. Among the 20 edible species a few are highly esteemed. The importance of mushrooms in the diet of the wild as well as the domestic animals is briefly discussed.