Cortinarius floridaensis Niskanen, Liimat. & M. E. Sm., sp. nov.

Index Fungorum number: IF 900306;  Mycobank number: MB 900306; Facesoffungi number: FoF 14863; Figs. 1b, 2b, 3

Etymology – The species was first found from Florida, USA.

Holotype – K-M 001434095.

Pileus 1.5–5.5 cm in diam, at first hemispherical, then low convex to almost plane, often with a quite low and broad umbo, distinctly innately fibrillose, greyish brown when young, later more olive yellow brown, hygrophanous. Lamellae medium spaced, brown to dark brown. Stipe 2.5–5.5 cm long, 0.5–0.8 cm thick at the apex, cylindrical to clavate, blue at the apex, greyish white fibrillose lower down, becoming pale yellowish brown with age. Context in pileus brown, in stipe apex pale greyish brown, in the rest of the stipe brown. Universal veil ochraceous yellow to ochraceous brown, forming a thin sock or some bands on the lower half of the stipe. Mycelium white. Odour raphanoid. Basidiospores 8–9×5.5–6 µm, broadly obovoidly ellipsoid, rather strongly verrucose. Basidia hyaline, some with pale brownish-yellow contents in 5% KOH. ITS sequence (GenBank ON843399, ex holotype) distinct from other members of C. subgen. Telamonia and with 90% similarity to the closest known species C. alces.

Habitat and distribution – In mixed forests with Fagaceae and so far known from Eastern USA: Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan and Tennessee.

Material examined – USA, Florida, Wakulla Co., Crawfordville, 306 Wakulla Beach Road, under Pinus, mixed deciduous and Pinus forest with some Quercus virginiana, Magnolia grandiflora and sweetgum, sandy soil, on calcareous bedrock, 24 December 2014, K. Liimatainen, T. Niskanen 14-060, 001434096 (K-M). loc. cit. 27 December 2014, K. Liimatainen, T. Niskanen 14-096, 001434097 (K-M). loc. cit. 30 December 2014, K. Liimatainen, T. Niskanen 14–112, 001434098 (K-M). Tallahassee Co., Lake Talquin State Forest, by the road 267, Bear Creek Educational forest, Fagus, Carpinus, Castanea, Pinus, laurel oak, live oak, white oak, on sandy soil, 25 December 2014, K. Liimatainen, T. Niskanen 14-068, 001434099 (K-M). loc. cit. mostly evergreen oaks, 29 December 2014, K. Liimatainen, T. Niskanen 14–107, 001434100 (K-M). Gainesville, Sweetwater, Eastern trail, Xeric oak forest with some pines, 9 January 2015, K. Liimatainen, T. Niskanen 14–135, 001434101 (K-M). High Springs, O’Leno State Park, Xeric oak forest with pine hammock, 11 January 2015, K. Liimatainen, T. Niskanen 14–139, 001434102 (K-M). loc. cit. 11 January 2015, K. Liimatainen, T. Niskanen 14–144, 001434103 (K-M). loc. cit. 11 January 2015, K. Liimatainen, T. Niskanen 14–150, 001434104 (K-M). loc. cit. 11 January 2015, K. Liimatainen, T. Niskanen 14–152, 001434105 (K-M). loc. cit. 11 January 2015, K. Liimatainen, T. Niskanen 14–163, 001434106 (K-M). Columbia Co., River Rise State Park, laurel oak, live oak, Pinus, Magnolia, sweetgum, 13 January 2015, K. Liimatainen, T. Niskanen 14–174, 001434095 (holotype in K-M; isotype in H). Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, parking place in east side of the road at Puggy Road junction, Park-like oak spp. dominated forest, 14 January 2015, K. Liimatainen, T. Niskanen 14–244, 001434107 (K-M).

GenBank numbers – TN14-174: ITS=ON843399; TN14-060: ITS = ON843400; TN14-096: ITS = ON843401; TN14-112: ITS=ON843402; TN14-068: ITS=ON843403; TN14-107: ITS=ON843404; TN14-135: ITS=ON843405; TN14-139: ITS=ON843406; TN14-144: ITS=ON843407; TN14-150: ITS=ON843408; TN14-152: ITS=ON843409; TN14-163: ITS=ON843410; TN14-224: ITS=ON843411.

Notes – Although a brown species of C. subgenus Telamonia, C. floridaensis has a combination of characters that make it rather easy to identify. It is a medium-sized species with an innately fibrillose, olive yellow brown pileus, the apex of the stipe is blue, the universal veil is ochraceous yellow to ochraceous brown, and the smell is raphanoid. The systematic position of the species in the subgenus was not resolved, but the species is most reminiscent of those in sections Brunneotincti, Valgi and Bovini.

Figure 1 – Basidiomes of the species of the genera Cortinarius, Hygronarius and Mystinarius. a Cortinarius flaureifolius (K-M 001434094, holotype). b Cortinarius floridaensis (K-M 001434095, holotype). c Cortinarius subiodes (K-M 001434108, holotype). d Hygronarius californicus (K-M 001434114, holotype). e Mystinarius ochrobrunneus (CR 4064459, holotype). Photographs: a Matthew E. Smith, b–d Kare Liimatainen, e Joseph F Ammirati

Figure 2 – Basidiomes of the species of the genera Cortinarius, Hygronarius and Mystinarius. a Cortinarius flaureifolius (K-M 001434094, holotype). b Cortinarius floridaensis (K-M 001434095, holotype). c Cortinarius subiodes (K-M 001434108, holotype). d Hygronarius californicus (K-M 001434114, holotype). e Mystinarius ochrobrunneus (CR 4064459, holotype). Drawings: Tuula Niskanen. Scale bars: 10 µm

Figure 3 – The best scoring RAxML tree of the genera Cortinarius and Hygronarius based on the ITS region. Related sequences were retrieved from GenBank. Forty-nine specimens were included in the analysis of the ITS region which comprises 732 characters after alignment. The tree is rooted with Hygronarius. Estimated base frequencies were: A=0.242037, C=0.200516, G=0.214242,  T=0.343206; substitution rates AC=1.323688, AG=3.480113, AT=1.611311, CG=0.756641, CT=4.952595, GT=1.000000, gamma distribution shape parameter α=0.362036. Maximum likelihood bootstrap values higher than 50% are given at the nodes. The holotype specimens retrieved from the GenBank are in bold and black. The new species are in bold and blue. The section of the species is indicated after the collection/GenBank no. of each specimen