FABIans Prof. Cobus Visagie, Dr Neriman Yilmaz and their collaborator Dr Jos Houbraken (Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute in the Netherlands) have identified 99 Penicillium and 25 Talaromyces species previously catalogued in culture collections in South Africa, including eight Penicillium and three Talaromyces species, which they have formally named and described. The new species were named P. drakensteinense, P. kirstenboschense, P. limpopoense, P. lydenburgense, P. mbombelaense, P. potchefstroomense, P. roodeplaatense, P. silvertonense, T. gautengensis, T. macrodendroideus and T. mzansiensis. The study was recently published in Persoonia and aimed to re-identify the strains in the National Collections of Fungi (PPRI) and the Medical Research Council (MRC). The study highlights the important role that culture collections play in cataloguing the fungal species found in a country and the need to apply modern taxonomic approaches to them. South Africa is rich in Penicillium and Talaromyces species. 242 of the 611 recognised Penicillium species and 58 of the 235 Talaromyces species have been recorded in South Africa to date.

---