Phlegmacium glaucopus (Schaeff.)

Liu, Fei-Fei, Wu, Gang & Yang, Zhu L., 2023, A new species and new records of Phlegmacium (Cortinariaceae) from China based on molecular and morphological evidence, Phytotaxa 578 (2), pp. 141-157 : 149-151

Phlegmacium glaucopus (Schaeff.) W̧nsche, Die Pilze: 131, 1877 Figs. 2C , 3C 1–C 4.

Basionym: Agaricus glaucopus Schaeff., Fung. Bavar. Palat. 4: 23. 1774: sanctioned in Fr., Syst. Mycol. 1: 224. 1821

MycoBank: MB 357329

Description:— Pileus 4–6 cm, hemispherical, then plano-convex to plane, first viscid but soon dry, finely innately fibrillose, center reddish brown, ochraceous yellow towards the margin. Lamellae emarginate, 4–5 mm broad, crowded (L = 115–130, l = 1–2), first reddish lilac, later brown. Stipe 3 cm long, 2–2.5 cm thick at apex, 3–4 cm wide at the base, bulbous with a marginate bulb, ochraceous brown, whitish at apex, very finely fibrillose; basal mycelium white. Context whitish with a bluish tint in pileus and stipe.

Basidiospores [40/2/1] (7–)8–9(–10) × 4.5–6 μm, av. 8.43–8.45 × 5.02–5.07 μm, Q = 1.25–1.83(–1.88), Qav. = 1.67–1.69, elongate, occasionally ellipsoid, strongly verrucose. Basidia 20–30 × 6–8 μm, 4-spored, clavate, colorless to pale yellow with small granules. Cystidia absent. Lamellar trama hyphae (3–)4–7(–10) μm wide, colorless, sometimes yellowish, smooth. Stipe hyphae (3–)5–7(–8) μm wide, colorless, sometimes yellowish, smooth. Pileipellis duplex, the upper layer (40–80 μm thick), gelatinous, composed of narrow, colorless to light yellow, some spirally incrusted, thin-walled, long-celled hyphae measuring 3–5 μm wide; lower layer composed of interwoven to parallel cylindrical, ochraceous yellow to light yellow, thin-walled hyphae measuring (3–)5–10 μm wide. Clamp connections common in all parts of basidioma.

Habitat and distribution:—Solitary to gregarious on soil in coniferous or deciduous forests. Summer. Currently known in the USA, Finland, Canada, Sweden ( Liimatainen et al. 2014), and northwestern China (this study).

Specimen examined:— CHINA. Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region : Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture , Zhaosu County, in a forest with Picea , altitude 2264 m, 5 August 2021, Geng-Shen Wang 1720 ( KUN-HKAS124253 ) .

Notes:— Phlegmacium glaucopus is mainly characterized by its slightly viscid, ochraceous yellow to reddish brown pileus, reddish lilac lamellae when young, marginate bulb, and elongate, occasionally ellipsoid basidiospores measuring (7–)8–9(–10) × 4.5–6 μm. It grows in coniferous or deciduous forests. The description of P. glaucopus in Orton (1955) & Liimatainen et al. (2014) fairly fits our collection.

Based on morphological and molecular data, P. subfoetens (M.M. Moser & McKnight) Niskanen & Liimat. (2022: 153) and P. subrubrovelatum (Bidaud) Niskanen & Liimat. (2022: 153) are the closest relatives of P. glaucopus . These two species also grow in coniferous forests. However, P. subfoetens has a larger basidioma and larger basidiospores (8.2–9.7 × 5–5.4 μm, Q = 1.58–1.82), and P. subrubrovelatum has lighter reddish-brown colors in the pileipellis, bluish lamellae and more incrusted hyphae in the upper layer of the pileipellis ( Liimatainen et al. 2014).

Phlegmacium kytoevuorii (Niskanen & Liimat.) Niskanen & Liimat. , Fungal Divers. 112: 145, 2022 Figs. 2D , 3D 1–D 4.

≡ Cortinarius kytoevuorii Niskanen & Liimat., Persoonia 33: 124, 2014

MycoBank: MB 558969

Description:— Pileus 4.5–7.5 cm, hemispherical, then plano-convex to plane, viscid but soon dry, slightly fibrillose, and always with white patches of the veil at pileus center, yellow to yellowish brown. Lamellae emarginate, 4–5 mm broad, crowded (L = 100–120, l = 1–3), first pale yellow, later brown. Stipe 4.5–6.5 cm long, 1–2 cm thick at apex, 2–2.5 cm wide at the base, bulbous with a marginate bulb, whitish, ornamented with ochraceous yellow fibrils; basal mycelium white. Context white in pileus and stipe.

Basidiospores [80/4/2] 8–9(–10) × 5–6 μm, av. 8.54–8.87 × 5.48–5.53 μm, Q = 1.33–1.85, Qav. = 1.56–1.61, ellipsoid to elongate, strongly verrucose. Basidia (22–)26–32(–35) × 7–8 μm, 4-spored, clavate, colorless, sometimes pale yellow with small granules. Cystidia absent. Lamellar trama hyphae (2–)3–5(–6) μm wide, colorless, sometimes pale yellow, smooth. Stipe hyphae 3–7(–10) μm wide, colorless to amber yellow, smooth. Pileipellis duplex, the upper layer (45–80 μm thick) gelatinous, composed of narrow, colorless to pale yellow, spirally incrusted, thin-walled, longcelled hyphae measuring (1.5–)2–5 μm wide; lower layer composed of interwoven to parallel cylindrical, ochraceous yellow, brown to yellowish, thin-walled hyphae measuring 5–10(–15) μm wide. Clamp connections common in all parts of basidioma.

Habitat and distribution:—Solitary to gregarious on soil in coniferous forests. Summer to autumn. Currently known from Finland ( Liimatainen et al. 2014) and northwestern China (this study).

Specimens examined:— CHINA. Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region: Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Zhaosu County, in a forest with Picea , altitude 1932 m, 6 August 2021, Lei Lei 177 (KUN-HKAS124260); same county, in a forest with Picea , altitude 2532 m, 5 August 2021, Geng-Shen Wang 1695 (KUN-HKAS124252).

Notes:— Phlegmacium kytoevuorii is mainly characterized by its slightly viscid, yellow to yellowish brown pileus, always with white patches of the veil at the pileus center, marginate bulbous stipe, and ellipsoid to elongate basidiospores measuring 8–9(–10)× 5–6 μm. This species was originally described in Finland and found in coniferous forests ( Liimatainen et al. 2014).

The sister species P. subrugulosum (Bidaud & Armada) Niskanen & Liimat. (2022: 153) is separated by its more abundant radial fibrils on the pileus, submarginate to marginate bulbous stipe, and smaller basidiospores (7.3–8.6 × 5–5.7 μm, Qav. = 1.50) ( Soop 2004, 2005; Bidaud et al. 2006; Liimatainen et al. 2014).

Very recently, P. kytoevuorii was reported in Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China ( Wang et al. 2022).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Maximum-Likelihood phylogenetic tree inferred from the ITS dataset. Bootstrap values equal to or greater than 50% and Bayesian posterior probabilities equal to or greater than 0.95 are shown along the branches. Sequences generated in this study are in blue bold face.

FIGURE 2. Basidiomata of P. ochraceosquamosum: A1–2. HKAS124256 (holotype); P. caesiocolor: B. HKAS67872; P. glaucopus: C. HKAS124253; P. kytoevuorii: D. HKAS124252; P. paracephalixum: E. HKAS92058; P. patrickense: F. HKAS124259; P. violaceorubens: G. HKAS124254. Bars = 10 mm. Photos by Jian-Wei Liu (A1–2), Qing Cai (B, E), Geng-Shen Wang (C–D), Li-Rong Liu (F), Liu-Kun Jia (G).

FIGURE 3. The basidiospores and pileipellis of P. ochraceosquamosum: A1–4. HKAS124256 (holotype); P. caesiocolor: B1–4. HKAS67872; P. glaucopus: C1–4. HKAS124253; P. kytoevuorii: D1–4. HKAS124252. (continued on the next page)