Four Novel Species and Two New Records of Boletes from India

Repeated macrofungal explorations, followed by thorough examination of species through morphology and molecular phylogeny, have made it clear that European and American names of wild mushrooms were inadvertently misapplied quite often to Asian lookalikes by mycologists/taxonomists in the past. Therefore, in order to reveal this mushroom treasure, in recent years, taxonomical research on wild mushrooms has been intensified in Asian countries, including India, by undertaking a combined approach of morpho-taxonomy and multigene molecular phylogeny. Boletoid mushrooms (Boletaceae) are no exception. While working on boletoid mushrooms of the Indian Himalayas, authors recently came across six interesting species of boletoid mushrooms. In the present communication, four novel species, namely Leccinellum binderi, Cyanoboletus paurianus, Xerocomus uttarakhandae, and Xerocomellus himalayanus, are established based on morphology and molecular phylogenetic estimations. Moreover, Cyanoboletus macroporus and Xerocomus fraternus are also reported here for the first time in India.

Automated summary

Through morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies, it has been discovered that European and American names of wild mushrooms were often mistakenly applied to Asian lookalikes in the past. Consequently, taxonomical research on wild mushrooms has been intensified in Asian countries, including India, in recent years to reveal the true mushroom diversity. In this study, four new species and two species new to India were identified and established based on morphology and molecular phylogeny.