Joe Ammirati

Hygrophoraceae from Arctic and Alpine Tundra in Alaska

Nine taxa in the Hygrophoraceae, including five informally designated variants, are described and discussed from Alaskan Arctic and alpine tundra. These include, Hygrocybe citrinopallida, H. aff. citrinopallida, H. coccineocrenata, H. aff. coccineocrenata, H. conica, H. aff. lilacina, Hygrophorus aff. chrysodon, H. aff. eburneus and H. melizeus.

Cortinarius section Bicolores and section Saturnini (Basidiomycota, Agaricales), a morphogenetic overview of European and North American species

Cortinarius is the largest genus of ectomycorrhizal fungi worldwide. Recent molecular studies have shown high levels of morphological homoplasy within the genus. Importantly, DNA phylogenies can reveal characteristics that have been either over- or underemphasized in taxonomic studies. Here we sequenced and phylogenetically analysed a large set of pan-European and North American collections taxonomically studied and placed in Cortinarius sect. Bicolores and sect. Saturnini, according to traditional morpho-anatomical criteria. Our goal was to circumscribe the evolutionary boundaries of the two sections, to stabilize both the limits and nomenclature of relevant species, and to identify described taxa which, according to our current understanding, belong to other lineages. Our analysis resolves two clades: /Bicolores, including 12 species, one of which is new to science, and /Saturnini, including 6 species. Fifteen binomials, traditionally treated in these two sections based on morphology, do not belong to the above two phylogenetic clades. Instead, six of these latter are clearly placed in other clades that represent sect. Bovini, sect. Sciophylli, sect. Duracini and sect. Brunneotincti. The presence or absence of blue pigments and the detection of specific odours emerge as clearly misleading taxonomic features, but more surprisingly, spore size and ecology can be misleading as well. A total of 63 type specimens were sequenced, 4 neotypes and 2 epitypes are proposed here, and 1 new combination is made.

Open letter to the scientific community of mycologists. Inputs from referees requested

Open Letter Open letter to the scientific community of mycologists Inputs from referees requested Reinhard Agerer a,∗, Joe Ammirati b, Paul Blanz c, Régis Courtecuisse d, Dennis E. Desjardin e, Walter Gams f , Nils Hallenberg g, Roy Halling h, David L. Hawksworth i, Egon Horak j, Richard P. Korf k, Greg M. Mueller l, Franz Oberwinkler m, Gerhard Rambold n, Richard C. Summerbell f , Dagmar Triebel o, Roy Watling p a Institut für Systematische Botanik, Section Mykologie, Universität München, Menzinger Street 67, D-80638 Munich, Germany b Department of Botany, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA c Institut für Botanik, Universität Graz, Holteigasse 6, A-8010 Graz, Austria d Département de Botanique, Faculté des Sciences Pharmaceutiques et Biologiques, BP 83, F-59006 Lille Cedex, France e Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA f Centraalbureau v. Schimmelcultures, P. O. Box 273, NL-3740 AG Baarn, The Netherlands g Department of Plant Taxonomy, University of Göteborg, Carl Skottsbergs Gata 22, S-41319 Gothenburg, Sweden h Institute of Systematic Botany, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458-5126, USA i MycoNova, 114 Finchley Lane, Hendon, London NW4 1DG, UK j Geobotanisches Institut ETH, Herbarium Z+ZT, Zollikerstr. 107, CH-8008 Zurich, Switzerland k Department of Plant Pathology, Cornell University, 401 Plant Science Building, Ithaca, NY 14853-4203, USA l Department of Botany, The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL 60605-2496, USA m Institut für Biologie I, Lehrstuhl Spezielle Botanik und Mykologie, Auf der Morgenstelle 1, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany n Lehrstuhl für Pflanzensystematik, Universität Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30-NW I 101251, D-95447 Bayreuth, Germany o Botanische Staatssammlung München, Mycology Department, Menzinger Street 67, D-80638 Munich, Germany p Royal Botanic Garden, Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, UK