Conocybe Section Pilosellae in China: Reconciliation of Taxonomy and Phylogeny Reveals Seven New Species and a New Record

Abstract

Conocybe belongs to the Bolbitiaceae. The morphological classification and molecular phylogenetics of Conocybe section Pilosellae are not in agreement. In this study, based on the specimens from China, we investigated the sect. Pilosellae and identified 17 species, including 7 new species: Conocybe pilosa, with a densely hairy pileus and stipe; C. reniformis, with reniform spores; C. ceracea, with waxy dehydration of the lamellae; C. muscicola, growing on moss; C. sinobispora, with two-spored basidia; C. hydrophila, with a hygrophanous pileus; C. rufostipes, growing on dung with a brown stipe; and C. pseudocrispa, one new record for China. A key was compiled for the sect. Pilosellae in China. Here, the sect. Pilosellae, and new species and records from China are morphologically described and illustrated. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses were performed using a combined nuc rDNA internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) and nuc 28S rDNA (nrLSU), and translation elongation factor 1-alpha (tef1-α) dataset to reconstruct the relationships of this section. We found that the sect. Pilosellae was the basal clade of Conocybe, and its evolutionary features may shed light on the characteristics of Conocybe. By integrating morphological classification and phylogenetic analysis, we explored the possible phylogenetic relationships among the species of the sect. Pilosellae in China.

Four New Species and One New Record of Thelephora from China

“…For the measurement of basidiospores, at least 20 basidiospores were measured for each specimen; the notation "basidiospores (n/m/p)" is used to mean n basidiospores measured from m basidiomes of p specimens. L denotes spore length (arithmetic average of all spores); W denotes spore width (arithmetic average of all spores); Q denotes variation in the length/width ratios of basidiospores in side view; Q m denotes the average Q of all basidiospores ± sample standard deviation [30][31][32]. Since the shape of basidiospore is mainly inferred by its length/width ratio, we have defined the terms of basidiospore shapes as follows: globose (length/width ratio = 1.01-1.05), subglobose to broadly ellipsoid (length/width ratio = 1.05-1.3), ellipsoid (length/width ratio = 1.3-1.6), and elongated (length/width ratio = 1.6-2).…”