Conocybe karakensis T. Ullah

Ullah, Tauseef, Ullah, Khetab, Saba, Malka & Shah, Fahim Hussain, 2023, Conocybe karakensis sp. nov. (Bolbitiaceae, Agaricales) from Pakistan, Phytotaxa 584 (3), pp. 135-148 : 142-144

Conocybe karakensis T. Ullah & M. Saba sp. nov., ( Fig. 2A–E , 3. a–b and 4A–G )

MycoBank: MB 843865

Etymology:—‘karakensis’ refers to the locality Karak District where the type specimen was collected.

Diagnosis:—The diagnostic features of Conocybe karakensis sp. nov. are; medium size cap, semi-ovate pileus with deep reddish-orange (10R 4/12 #AF3615) to dark reddish-orange (10R 4/10 #A73F27) color; light brown, large sized stipe; thick-walled, light brown, oblong basidiospores; clavate shaped basidia; inhabiting in the tropical area (mixture of sand and loam soil).

Type:— PAKISTAN. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province: Karak District (Mianki banda), N71º7ʹ67ʺ E32º9ʹ41ʺ, elev. 340 m, in sandy and loamy soil, 4 March 2017, Tauseef Ullah (KTK-05) .

Description:—Small to medium size fruiting bodies having no prominent odor. Pileus 5–6 cm broad and 0.2–0.5 cm thick, smooth, semi-ovate, fleshy at the initial stage but later on become collapsed and auto-degraded at maturity, epigeous, no discoloration on touching, lack of fibrillose scale on surface, striate margin, deep reddish orange in color (10R 4/12 #AF3615) at disk while turning dark reddish orange (10R 4/10 #A73F27) toward the margin. Lamellae 2–3 cm broad, dark reddish-orange in color, free, spaced with intercalated lemellulae of one tire. Stipe ranging from 6–8 cm long and 3–5 mm thick, entirely smooth, cylindrical, woody, solid, central, and deep reddish orange to dark radish orange in color.

Basidiospores 11.8–15 × 7.2–9.7 μm, elongated, oblong-shaped, smooth and thick-walled having prominent black colour, non-amyloid, apiculus not observed, oil globule absent, light brown in 5% KOH, dark brown in Congo Red while light greenish in lactophenol. Basidia 14.8–25 × 10–13.5 μm, bisterigmatic or tetrasterigmatic bearing two or four spores, sharped sterigmata (2.3–5.4 μm), nearly ellipsoid-obovoid shaped, rounded base, thin-walled, non-amyloid, oil globules absent. Cheilocystidia 22.3–38.5 × 6.4–11.8 μm, clavate shaped, light brown in color. Pleurocystidia 12.2 –23.6 × 8.2–11.4 µm, smooth and thin-walled, slightly depressed at centre, broadly clavate shaped, light brown in KOH, somewhat greenish in lactophenol while dark brown in Congo Red dye and rare in number. Pileipellis material 5.2–20.4 μm, smooth and thick-walled, oblong, sub-spherical to spherical shaped. Hymenophoral trama irregular, composed of thin-walled hyphae ranging from 10.5–22.6 broad. Stipitipellis 18.3–28.3 μm broad, cylindrical, brown in color, regular, septate, unbranched, clamp connection absent.

Habit and habitat:—This species was found solitary in a tropical habitat during the spring season (March) on loam soil mixed with sand soil surrounded by Cynodon dectylon (L.) Pers and Treticum aestivum (L.).

Distribution:—Only known from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Edibility:—Unknown.

Other specimen examined:— PAKISTAN. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province: District Karak, Takht-e-Nasrati, N71º7ʹ67ʺ E32º9ʹ41ʺ elev. 340 m, in wheat field, 9 March 2018, Tauseef Ullah (KTK-06).

Figures

FIGURE 2. A–E. Macro-morphological characterizations of Conocybe karakensis sp. nov. A & E. Photography click at their natural ecological habitat, B & C. Gills and stipe view, D. Upper view of basidiomata. Scale bar: A–B = 5 mm. Photos click by Tauseef Ullah.

FIGURE 3. a–b. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis of Basidiospores. (source: National Center of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Pakistan).

FIGURE 4.A–G. Micro-morphological features of Conocybe karakensis sp. nov. A. Basidiospores under light microscope, B. Basidia, C. Cheilocystidia, D. Pleurocystidia, E & F. Pileipellis materials, G. Stipitipellis meterials. Bars = 10μm