Two new species of Cortinariaceae from Indian Himalaya and their phylogenetic affinities

Bose, Arunima; Das, Kanad; Vizzini, Alfredo; Sen, Kakali

doi:https://doi.org/10.54207/bsmps1000-2025-6VXFA0

Abstract

Cortinariaceae represents one of the most species-rich and taxonomically diverse families within the order Agaricales. As a part of the ongoing efforts to document its hidden diversity, extensive macrofungal surveys were conducted in two different states of India, viz., Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh, resulting in the discovery of two noteworthy species belonging to the genera Cortinarius and Phlegmacium. Cortinarius himachalensis is readily distinguished by a prominently umbonate pileus, a slightly curved stipe with a tapered base, and elliptical to pip-shaped basidiospores. In contrast, Phlegmacium subalpinum is characterized by a dry pileus surface, amygdaliform to citriform shaped basidiospores, and a double-layered pileipellis lacking a gluten layer. Species delimitation was supported by detailed morpho-taxonomic analyses in combination with molecular phylogenetic inferences using nuclear markers, nrITS and nrLSU. Phlegmacium subalpinum was resolved using a two-locus dataset (nrITS and LSU), whereas C. himachalensis was established based on nrITS sequence data alone. These findings contribute to the growing understanding of Cortinariaceae diversity in the Indian Himalaya.

Keywords

Agaricales, Basidiomycota, Cortinariaceae, Molecular phylogeny, Taxonomy

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Fig. 1

Maximum-Likelihood phylogenetic tree of Phlegmacium. Phylogenetic tree inferred from the ITS+nrLSU matrix. The SH-aLRT support values ≥ 80 and the UFB values ≥ 90 for ML, and BPP values ≥ 0.95 for BI, are indicated above the nodes as SH-aLRT/UFB/BPP. P. subalpinum is placed in bold red to highlight its phylogenetic positions in the tree.

Fig. 2

Phlegmacium subalpinum (A–C). Fresh basidiomata. (D). Transverse section of the pileipellis. (E). Basidiospores. Scale bars: (E) = 10 µm.

Fig. 3

Phlegmacium subalpinum (A). Basidiospores. (B). Basidia. (C). Marginal elements. (D). Elements of the pileipellis. Scale bars = 10 µm.

Fig. 4

Maximum-Likelihood phylogenetic tree of Cortinarius. Phylogenetic tree inferred from the ITS sequence data. Maximum likelihood bootstrap support values (MLbs) ≥ 70% are shown on the left of “/”. C. himachalensis is placed in bold red to highlight its phylogenetic positions in the tree.

Fig. 5

Cortinarius himachalensis (A–B). Fresh basidiomata. (C). Transverse section of the pileipellis. (D). Transverse section through the gill margin. (E). SEM image of a basidiospore. Scale bars: (C–D) = 10 µm; (E) = 2 µm.

Fig. 6

Cortinarius himachalensis (A). Basidiospores. (B). Basidia. (C). Marginal elements. (D). Elements of the pileipellis. Scale bars = 10 µm.

References

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Two new species of Cortinariaceae from Indian Himalaya and their phylogenetic affinities

Arunima Bose, Kanad Das, Alfredo Vizzini and Kakali Sen

Indian Journal of Forestry | Volume: 48 | Issue: 3 | Page No. 185-197 | 2025 DOI: https://doi.org/10.54207/bsmps1000-2025-6VXFA0 | Cite this article

Arunima Bose

Kanad Das

Alfredo Vizzini

Kakali Sen