Pulveroboletus sokponianus Badou, De Kesel, Raspe & Yorou

Badou, Sylvestre A., esel, Andre De, Raspe, Olivier, Ryberg, Martin K., Atsu K. Guelly, & Yorou, Nourou S., 2018, Two new African siblings of Pulveroboletusravenelii (Boletaceae), MycoKeys 43, pp. 115-130 : 115

Pulveroboletus sokponianus Badou, De Kesel, Raspe & Yorou sp. nov. Fig. 3 a–g

Illustr.

Yorou and De Kesel (2011, fig 5.10, ut Pulveroboletus ravenelii ).

Holotype.

Togo, Central Province, Kparatao (towards Bassar), 09°11.630'N, 0°59.134'E, 14 July 2007, alt. 580 m, woodland on a slope with Isoberlinia doka , Uapaca togoensis and Monotes kerstingii , leg. A. De Kesel, De Kesel 4360 (BR!, BR 5020163695566, duplicate in TOGO).

Etymology.

in honour of the late Prof. Dr. Ir. Nestor Sokpon, esteemed colleague of the University of Parakou (Benin), for his various contributions to the understanding of woodland ecology and regeneration.

Description.

Basidiomata medium-sized, wrapped in a greenish-yellow (1A2-3) general veil when young. Pileus 40-55(60) mm diam., at first hemispherical to convex, then pulvinate or plano convex, upper layer pale yellow (1A2-4) to greenish-grey (1BC3-4), not cyanescent, dry, mat, tomentose to felty, becoming subtly to inconspicuously cracked, greenish-yellow (1A2-3) in the deeper layers; scales subtle, flat, slightly felty, greenish-grey (1BC3-4), darker in the centre, diffused towards the margin; margin at first incurved, appendiculate with age, greenish-yellow. Hymenophore tubulate, separable, straight to slightly sinuate, depressed around the stipe; tubes up to 7 mm long, yellow to greyish-yellow (1B3), cyanescent when cut; pores regular, mostly round or slightly angular, slightly elongated around the stipe, small (13-16/mm), pale yellow (1A2-2A2), cyanescent. Stipe cylindrical, 42-60 × 6-7(9) mm, central, solid, uppermost part yellowish-white (1A2-3), smooth, lower part sheathed with a mat, dry, fibrillose-cottony, thick, yellowish-white to pale yellow (1A2-4) or pale greenish-grey (1BC3-4) layer, the latter rather tearing than cracking in subtle fibrils; ring at first woolly, cottony, pale greenish-yellow (1A2-4), then collapsing, leaving diffuse remains on pileus margin and stipe, sometimes pulverulent. Context whitish to whitish-yellow in the pileus, gradually yellowish-white (1A2) towards the base of the stipe. Slightly and slowly cyanescent, except in the base of the stipe. Basal mycelium and rhizomorphs usually white. Odour fungoid, when fresh like Lepista nuda (in collection De Kesel 1979). Spore print and macrochemical reactions not obtained.

Spores (8.5 –)8.5–9.3–10.2(– 10.5) × (4.4 –)4.3–4.9–5.4(– 5.6) µm, Q = (1.76)1.74 –1.92–2.1(– 2.14), broadly ellipsoid, smooth, pale yellowish-brown in 5% KOH and Melzer’s reagent, thin-walled, inamyloid. Basidia 4-spored, 21-32 × 8-12 µm, clavate, hyaline, sterigmata 3-4 µm long, without clamp connection. Cheilocystidia abundant, fusiform to clavate, (36.8 –)34.1–42.7–51.4(– 52.8) × (6.6 –)7.7–9.7–11.7(– 11) µm, thin-walled, with yellow intracellular pigment (persistent in NH4OH). Pleurocystidia similar to cheilocystidia, not abundant. Hymenophoral trama divergent, with regular mediostratum. Pileipellis a tomentum, composed of irregularly intertwined hyphae of similar shape, cylindrical, 3.3-5.1(6.2) µm wide, entirely hyaline, smooth, with small clamps. Stipitipellis a tomentum composed of elements similar to the pileipellis. Partial veil with cylindrical hyphae, 3-6 µm wide, thin-walled, smooth. Clamp connections small, frequent in the pileipellis.

Additional collections.

BENIN, Atacora Province, Natitingou, Kota falls, 10°12.680'N, 1°26.723'E, 23 Aug. 1997, 520 m a.s.l., savannah woodland with Isoberlinia , A. De Kesel 1979 (BR 5020074831442); ibidem, 10°12.555'N, 001°26.793'E, 26 Jun. 2004, 480 m a.s.l., forest gallery with Berlinia grandiflora and Uapaca sp., A. De Kesel 3769 (BR 5020152060610); ibidem, Kouandé, 10°17.159'N, 1°40.890'E, 25/09/2000, 470 m a.s.l., savannah woodland with Isoberlinia tomentosa (Harms) Craib & Stapf, A. De Kesel 2942 (BR 5020129153468); ibidem, Borgou Province, Doguè, 9°07.249'N, 1°54.839'E, 10/10/2001, 350 m a.s.l., savannah woodland with Afzelia africana S.M. and Isoberlinia doka , A. De Kesel 3213 (BR 5020149693227); ibidem, Borgou Province, Okpara, 9°14.669'N, 2°43.377'E, 9 Aug. 2017, 360 m a.s.l., savannah woodland with Isoberlinia doka , S. Badou 0629 (UNIPAR); ibidem, Tamarou ( forêt classée de N’dali), 9°44.680'N, 2°41.544'E, 31 Jul. 2017, 390 m a.s.l., savannah woodland with Isoberlinia doka , S. Badou 0624 (UNIPAR); ibidem, 4 Aug. 2017, 390m a.s.l., S. Badou 0625 (UNIPAR); ibidem, Wako, 9°09.457'N, 2°05.599'E, 11/09/2001, 300 m a.s.l., savannah woodland with Isoberlinia doka , Uapaca togoensis and Burkea africana Hook., A. De Kesel 3132 (BR 5020149809413); ibidem, Wari Maro, 9°10.038'N, 2°09.931'E, 20 Aug. 1997, 310 m a.s.l., savannah woodland with Isoberlinia doka , A. De Kesel 1943 (BR 5020074934501); ibidem, 9°09.884'N, 2°09.595'E, 22 Jun. 1998, 310 m a.s.l., savannah woodland with Isoberlinia doka , A. De Kesel 2183 (BR 5020112693766); ibidem, 9°08.110'N, 2°10.215'E, 09/10/2001, 290 m a.s.l., savannah woodland with Isoberlinia doka and Uapaca togoensis , A. De Kesel 3188 (BR 5020149726550); ibidem, 9°09.900'N, 2°09.511'E, 23/09/2001, 310 m a.s.l., savannah woodland with Isoberlinia doka and Uapaca togoensis , A. De Kesel 3237 (BR 5020149751804); ibidem, 9°10.027'N, 2°10.848'E, 16 Jun. 2002, 340 m a.s.l., savannah woodland with Isoberlinia doka and Uapaca togoensis , A. De Kesel 3411 (BR 5020152133376); ibidem, Collines Province, Toui-Kilibo, 8°32.746'N, 2°40.424'E, 19 Jul. 2017, 320 m a.s.l., savannah woodland with Isoberlinia doka and I. tomentosa , S. Badou 0519 (UNIPAR); ibidem, 5 Jul. 2017, S. Badou 0617 (UNIPAR); ibidem, 13 Jul. 2017, S. Badou 0621 (UNIPAR); ibidem, Donga Province, Bassila, 8°57.319'N, 1°38.391'E, 14 Jun. 2002, 380 m a.s.l., savannah woodland with Berlinia grandiflora , A. De Kesel 3403 (BR 5020152245529); ibidem, 8°59.516'N, 1°38.261'E, 26 Jun. 2002, 370 m a.s.l., gallery forest with Berlinia grandiflora , Elaeis guineensis Jacq. and Raphia sp., A. De Kesel 3467 (BR 5020152045464); ibidem, 9°0.073'N, 001°39.318'E, 17 Jun. 2004, 380 m a.s.l., gallery forest with Berlinia grandiflora , A. De Kesel 3668 (BR 5020157041959); ibidem, Penessoulou (south), 9°9.688'N, 1°34.793'E, 4 Jul. 2017, 380 m a.s.l., small gallery forest with Isoberlinia doka , S. Badou 0613 (UNIPAR); ibidem, 11 Aug. 2017, S. Badou 0630 (UNIPAR); ibidem, 22 Aug. 2017, S. Badou 0631 (UNIPAR); ibidem, Zou Province, Ouèssè, Gbadji forest (West side of the slope), 7°57.152'N, 001°58.095'E, 13 Jun. 2004, 310 m a.s.l., savannah woodland with Isoberlinia doka , Burkea africana , A. De Kesel 3593 (BR 5020157206662). TOGO, Central Province, Fazao (Parc National), 08°42.150'N, 0°46.383'E, 16 Jun. 2011, 520 m a.s.l., savannah woodland with Afzelia africana , A. De Kesel 4910 (BR 5020212173335V); ibidem, 08°43.963'N, 0°47.674'E, 16 Jul. 2007, 510 m a.s.l., savannah woodland with Isoberlinia doka and Uapaca togoensis , A. De Kesel 4382 (BR 5020163713741); ibidem, 08°38.737'N, 0°46.010'E, 17 Jul. 2007, 550 m a.s.l., gallery forest with Berlinia grandiflora , A. De Kesel 4393 (BR 5020163839069); ibidem, 08°43.145'N, 0°46.332'E, 20 Jul. 2007, 560 m a.s.l., savannah woodland on gravelly soil, with Uapaca togoensis , A. De Kesel 4469 (BR 5020163803671); ibidem, 08°40.872'N, 0°45.487'E, 04 Jun. 2008, 680 m a.s.l., savannah woodland with Isoberlinia doka and Uapaca togoensis , A. De Kesel 4625 (BR 5020165412277).

Ethnomycological data.

Except for Benin, no local names or uses were collected. The local name in Nagot language is osousou eti (coll. De Kesel 2183) and this species is not eaten.