Pei-Gui Liu

Cantharellus hygrophorus, a new species in subgenus Afrocantharellus from tropical southwestern China

Abstract Cantharellus hygrophorus is described and illustrated from tropical Yunnan, China. It is characterized by its medium to large, fleshy fruitbodies, the deep orange-red color of pileus and part of the stipe, the yellow-orange hymenophore composed of well-developed gill folds, a pileipellis of suberect hyphal extremities and absence of clamps. These characters place it in Cantharellus subg. Afrocantharellus sect. Cutirellus as a look-alike of the tropical African C. splendens. Both morphological features as well as a phylogenetic analysis of nLSU sequences argue strongly against the recognition of Afrocantharellus as a separate genus, which is here considered a later synonym of Cantharellus.

Cantharellus in southwestern China: a new species and a new record

A new Cantharellus species from southwestern China is described, based on morphology and DNA sequencing (LSU rDNA). The new species, C. vaginatus, can be distinguished from other chanterelles by the combination of a dark-colored flocculososquamulose pileus, a rugulose hymenophore, and thick-walled hyphae in the pileipellis. Cantharellus appalachiensis, a species originally described from southeastern North America, is newly reported from China.

Ectomycorrhizae of Tuber huidongense and T. liyuanum with Castanea mollissima and Pinus armandii.

Tuber huidongense and T. liyuanum are common commercial white truffles in China that belong to the Rufum and Puberulum groups of the genus Tuber, respectively. Their mycorrhizae were successfully synthesized with two native trees—Castanea mollissima and Pinus armandii—under greenhouse conditions. The identities of the mycorrhizae were confirmed through internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analyses, and their morphological characteristics were described. All of the obtained mycorrhizae have an interlocking pseudoparenchymatous mantle, which is a typical feature of truffle mycorrhizae. The mycorrhizae of T. huidongense on the two trees have hyaline branched emanating hyphae, similar to the documented mycorrhizae of the Rufum group. The unramified, spiky, and hyaline cystidia on the mycorrhizae of T. liyuanum with both C. mollissima and P. armandii further confirmed that this characteristic is constant for the mycorrhizae of the Puberulum group. The successful mycorrhizal syntheses on the two nut-producing trees will be of economic importance in the cultivation of the two truffles.

Notes on Tuber huidongense (Tuberaceae, Ascomycota), an endemic species from China

Based on material collected front Yunnan and Sichuan, China, Tuber huidongense is re-described and illustrated in detail. A key to distinguish T. huidongense and its allied species found in China is provided. T. furfuraceum is synonymized with T huidongense. Molecular phylogenetic analysis using ITS-rDNA sequences demonstrated that T huidongense is a well-supported species in the T. rufum-clade. Morphological characters of Tuber huidongense x Pinus armandii mycorrhizae are also illustrated and described for the first time.

Phylogeography and population genetic analyses reveal the speciation of the Tuber indicum complex

Tuber indicum is an ectomycorrhizal ascomycete that produces edible ascocarps. Based on a number of specimens with known exact origin, we investigate the speciation of the Tuber indicum complex in southwest China. Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were used in the study. Phylogeography and population genetics analyses were combined to detect 31 wild populations of the T. indicum complex. Two distinct lineages, Tuber cf. indicum and Tuber cf. himalayense, were identified in the T. indicum complex that exhibited significant phylogeographic structures and genetic differentiation. The characteristics of haplotypes distributing along the river demonstrate that the diffusion and modern distribution pattern of species was influenced by river expansion. These findings are critical for the protection of the diversity of truffles in this region.

Typification of Tuber formosanum (Tuberaceae, Pezizales, Ascomycota) from Taiwan, China

When Hu described Tuber formosanum in 1992 as a new species based on collections from Dung-Pu, Nantou County, Taiwan, he neglected to designate a type, so that the name was not validly published. The current authors re-describe, illustrate, and validate T. formosanum based on a type selected from recent collections from the same region. Tuber formosanum is closely related to the indicum complex but differs in morphological, phylogenetic, and other respects and should be treated as a separate taxon.