Cortinarius uxorum Ballarà, Mahiques & Garrido-Benavent, 2019

Garrido-Benavent, Isaac, Ballarà, Josep & Mahiques, Rafael, 2019, Cortinarius uxorum, a new telamonioid species in Cortinarius sect. Firmiores from the Iberian Peninsula, Phytotaxa 403 (3), pp. 187-198 : 193-194

Cortinarius uxorum Ballarà, Mahiques & Garrido-Benavent , spec. nov. ( Figures 2 & 3 )

MycoBank number: MB 829836.

Etymology:—The epithet ″ uxorum ″ stems from the latin “ uxor ”, which means “wife, or married woman”. This is because the specimens were collected in a place named “El Serrat de les Esposes” by locals. In Catalan, “Esposes” is the plural of wife.

Diagnosis:—Basidiomata stout. Pileus surface hygrophanous, pale brownish to reddish beige with persistent marginal whitish partial veil remnants. Stipe cylindrical, fusiform to slightly claviform, and with a widened base; surface whitish with veil remnants forming a persistent, ring-like stripe at the top. Spores subamygdaliform, (8) 8.5–10 (10.5) × (4.5) 5–6 (6.5) μm.

Holotype (here designated):— Spain, Catalunya, Lleida, Cerdanya, Riu, Serrat de les Esposes, 42° 19′ 11″ N, 1° 48′ 21″ E, 1700 m, gregarious on siliceous soil under Abies alba Mill. and Pinus sylvestris L., with an understory of Rhododendron ferrugineum L., 7 September 2014, leg. J. Ballarà (JB–8426–14). Holotype deposited in the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid herbarium under the accession MA91813. GenBank nrITS accession number: MK766871.

Pileus 35–80 (110) mm diam., at first hemispheric, later convex with a persistent, obtuse, rounded and low umbo; margin incurved, later extended, moderately to highly lobulated and slightly serrate with age, retaining white veil remnants; surface hygrophanous, smooth, matt, pale brownish beige to pale reddish beige when hydrated (Ség. 130, 205, 705), drying progressively from the margin and then whitish, ivory-coloured with ochraceous tinges, slightly silvery and shiny, and innately, radially fibrillose; mature pilei without necropigments. Lamellae moderately crowded, broad to very broad, uncinate with a whitish attaching area, edges slightly serrate; pale beige at first, then deep beige with a reddish tinge (Ség. 135, 146), and finally deep brown, with edges initially paler; lamellulae present. Stipe 40–80 (110) mm long, 8–15 mm wide at apex, stout, cylindrical, fusiform to slightly claviform, some specimens with a rounded but not prominent bulbous base, 15–20 (30) mm in width; surface whitish, with veil remnants forming a persistent, ring-like stripe at the top, the latter being occasionally greyish. Context of pileus and stipe firm, fibrous, very pale beige, slightly darker (pale ochraceous grey) in hydrated areas; smell and taste indistinct to pleasant, acidulous to resinous, similar to that of Lactarius deliciosus (L.) Gray. Macrochemical reactions: Positive and weak dark reaction to KOH on pileus surface and context; slowly and faintly positive reaction to AgNO 3 (greyish) and Ph.A. (crimson red); negative reaction to metol and Guaiac tincture.

Basidiospores 8–10 (11) × 4.5–6 (6.5) μm, Q= (1.4) 1.50–1.7 (1.80), subamygdaliform, with a low suprahilar depression; surface densely and moderately verrucose. Basidia 25–35 × 8–10 μm, 4-spored; lamellar edge with basidia and more or less claviform cells. Pileipellis duplex composed of an epicutis of 3–6 (8) μm wide clamped (sub)cylindrical hyphae, some of them erect and ending with rounded terminal cells, with scattered ochraceous wall pigments, and hyphae of the veil remnants 2–4 μm wide; subcutis composed of irregularly-arranged, septate elements which become progressively wider up to 25 μm.

Habitat and distribution:—In mixed coniferous forests with Abies , Pinus and an understory of R. ferrugineum in the subalpine belt (> 1600 m asl), on siliceous soil.

Additional specimens examined:— Spain, Catalunya, Lleida, Cerdanya, Pi, Vall de Pi, 42° 18′ 09″ N, 1° 45′ 12″ E, 1650 m, only one specimen in more or less acidic soil under Pinus uncinata Raymond ex A. DC. and an understory of R. ferrugineum , 6 September 2015, leg. J. Ballarà (JB–8568–15). Material deposited in the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid herbarium under the accession MA91814. GenBank nrITS accession number: MK766872.

Figures

FIGURE 2. The new species Cortinarius uxorum. a Location of the Cadí-Moixeró Natural Park in the Iberian Peninsula. b–dA collection of several specimens (holotype, J. Ballarà JB–8426–14, MA91813). e–f A single specimen (J. Ballarà JB–8568–15, MA91814). Photographs by J. Ballarà. Illustrator: I. Garrido-Benavent.

FIGURE 3. Spores of Cortinarius uxorum. a–b Holotype, J. Ballarà JB–8426–14, MA91813. Scale bars: 10 μm. Photographs by J. Ballarà. Illustrator: I. Garrido-Benavent.