Cortinarius badioflavidus Ammirati, Beug, Niskanen, Liimat. & Bojantchev, sp. nov.
Index Fungorum number: IF 551702, Facesoffungi number: FoF 02038, Fig. 2
Etymology – Name based on colouration of pileus and stipe.
Holotype – Joseph Ammirati JFA13668 (WTU)

Pileus 20 – 60 mm diam., rounded conic, convex to planoconvex, umbonate or broadly umbonate or uplifted, margin incurved to decurved then plane, non-striate to striate, expanded, finely pale yellowish to white silky, silky fibrillose or fibrillose scaly, more or less glabrescent, colour some shade of red brown (brown Russet, Xanthine Orange, Dresden Brown, Mars Brown, Prout’s Brown, Cinnamon Brown, Vinaceous Cinnamon), faded more medium brown, edge pale (faded) in older pilei, disc paler brown at times, hygrophanous. Lamellae distinctly adnexed, subdistant to distant, sometimes intervenose, moderately broad, moderately thick then thicker in age, light medium brown, becoming rich brown (brownish Chamois, Cinnamon, Buckthorn Brown, Tawny Olive, Sudan Brown, Brussels Brown, Amber Brown, Argus Brown, Carob Brown), edges even to uneven in age, remaining pale for some time, then concolour. Stipe 43 – 88 mm long, apex 5.5 – 15 mm thick, equal or strongly tapered to base, tough, rigid, yellowish Cream Colour, Light Ochraceous Buff, Light Buff, Colonial Buff to Chamois, buff
and yellow becoming mixed with brown, lower stipe developing watery red brown areas, often dull watery red brown to watery dull yellow brown., stipe surface longitudinally fibrillose, fibrils white to faintly yellowish or orange buff. Universal veil white, forming a ring and incomplete girdles or almost a sock-like sheath on the stipe. Basal mycelium white. Context rather thin in pileus, watery concolour with surface, above stipe apex yellowish white or sometimes pinkish cinnamon, in stipe central area stuffed whitish to yellowish white, cortex watery yellow brown to brown or dark brown or red brown (Sudan Brown, Brussels Brown, Argus Brown, Antique Brown) in base the cortex somewhat darker brown. Odour sharply fragrant to that of green corn. Taste slightly unpleasant or astringent. Macrochemical reaction (40 % KOH): pileus cuticle Xanthine Orange, context pale yellow orange, stipe apex Xanthine Orange, stipe base Seal Brown. Exsiccatae: pileus light brown to dark brown or somewhat blackish, lamellae rich medium brown, stipe pallid to brownish or somewhat yellowish, with some blackish area, context dull whitish to pallid or slightly brownish. Basidia 4-spored, 8.7 – 9.2 × 29 – 31 μm, clavate, hyaline or commonly rich orange brown to yellow brown. Basidiospores 8.1 – 10.5 × 5.8 – 6.5 μm (20 spores, holotype specimens), broadly ellipsoid to broadly amygdaloid, very coarsely verrucose, moderately to strongly dextrinoid. Lamella trama hyphae heavily pigmented, red brown, orange brown, yellow brown, strongly encrusted in KOH. Pileipellis in KOH: Surface hyphae ± cylindrical to broadly cylindrical, 6 – 11 μm wide, hyaline or yellowish; subtending layer of ± enlarged hyphae 7 – 24 μm wide, hyaline to yellowish brown; beneath a yellow brown to orange brown pigmented layer of cylindrical to enlarged hyphae, 6 – 25 μm wide adjacent to trama hyphae. ITS sequence distinct from the other known members of the section Hinnulei, and differs from them in the ITS region by more than 6 substitutions and indel positions.

Ecology and distribution – Collections have been made in mixed forests of Quercus garryana, Q. douglasii, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Abies grandis, and Pinus ponderosa, Salix scouleriana has also been present in some areas. Producing basidiomata in late autumn-winter and spring. Known from Western North America, from California to Washington.

Material examined – USA, California, Contra Costa County, Tilden Park, N37°54′14.5″ W122°15′32.1″, Quercus agrifolia and Pseudotsuga menziesii, 23 Nov 2009, leg. Dimitar Bojantchev DBB28196. Marin County, Marin Watershed, N37°56′44.1″, W122°35′32.6″, Quercus agrifolia and Pseudotsuga menziesii, 09 Jan 2009, leg. Dimitar Bojantchev DBB13504. Yuba County, Southern Sierra Research Station src94, Quercus douglasii woodland, 14 Feb 2001 leg. Matthew Smith (UCB), Washington, Klickitat County, 45°48′36.71″N, 121°30″55.72 ″W, Quercus garryana, 19 Feb 2010, leg. Michael Beug 01MWB021910 (WTU, K). Beug Farm, near air field, Quercus garryana, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Salix sp., 20 Nov 2010, leg. Joseph Ammirati JFA13668 (holotype, WTU) (isotype, K(M): 200672), JFA13669. Beug Property, 45° 48.607 N, 121° 30.986 W, Quercus garryana, 3 April 2009 leg. Michael Beug 02MWB040309 (WTU, K). Oak grove (Quercus garryana, Pseudotsuga menziesii and Abies grandis) behind Beug house, 45° 48.606 N, 121° 30.973 W, 8 March 2009, leg.Michael Beug 01MWB030809 (WTU, K). Behind house, 194 Spring Creek, Husum, 24 March 2011, Quercus garryana, leg. Michael Beug 01MWB032411 (WTU, K). One thousand feet west of Beug property, 45°48.430 N, 121°31.135 W, Quercus garryana, 3 Dec 2008, leg. Michael Beug 03MWB120308 (WTU, K). Lindserth Old Road, 45° 48.419 N, 121°31.122 W, Quercus garryana, Pseudotsuga menziesii and Abies grandis, 9 Nov 2010, leg. Michael Beug 01MWB110910 (WTU, K). 45° 48.611 N, 121° 30.936 W, Quercus garryana, Pseudotsuga menziesii and Abies grandis, 30 Apr 2009 leg. Michael Beug 02MWB043009 (WTU, K). SDS west of Beug Farm, N45°48′24″,W121°31′06″, Quercus garryana, Pseudotsuga menziesii, 19 Nov 2013, leg. Michael Beug 11MWB111913, (WTU, K).

Notes – Cortinarius badioflavidus looks like a typical member of section Hinnulei (Fig. 1). The overall colouration of the basidiocarp is red brown to brown, the stipe is equal or tapered, lamellae are distant and the smell of lamellae is green corn-like. The broadly ellipsoid to broadly amygdaloid spores differentiate it from C. hinnuleus collections which have subglobose to obovoid-subglobose spores. European Cortinarius hinnuleoarmillatus is otherwise very similar to C. badioflavus, but it has orange red universal veil.

Fig. 1 Phylogram resulting from the RAxML (Stamatakis 2014) analysis of ITS regions. Bootstrap values greater than 50 % are indicated above branches. New taxa are in blue and ex- type in bold. The tree is rooted with section Cyanites.

Fig. 2 Cortinarius badioflavidus (holotype) a Basidiomata b Basidiospores. Photographs Joseph Ammirati. Scale bars: a = 10 mm, b = 10 μm.