Taxonomic revision of Russula subsection Amoeninae from South Korea

Abstract

Russula subsection Amoeninae is morphologically defined by a dry velvety pileus surface, a complete absence of cystidia with heteromorphous contents in all tissues, and spores without amyloid suprahilar spot. Thirty-four species within subsection Amoeninae have been published worldwide. Although most Russula species in South Korea have been assigned European or North American names, recent molecular studies have shown that Russula species from different continents are not conspecific. Therefore, the present study aims to: 1) define which species of Russula subsection Amoeninae occur on each continent using molecular phylogenetic analyses; 2) revise the taxonomy of Korean Amoeninae. The phylogenetic analyses using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and multilocus sequences showed that subsection Amoeninae is monophyletic within subgenus Heterophyllidiae section Heterophyllae. A total of 21 Russula subsection Amoeninae species were confirmed from Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and Central America, and species from different continents formed separate clades. Three species were recognized from South Korea and were clearly separated from the European and North American species. These species are R. bella, also reported from Japan, a new species described herein, Russula orientipurpurea, and a new species undescribed due to insufficient material.

Description of the Fifth New Species of Russula subsect. Maculatinae from Pakistan Indicates Local Diversity Hotspot of Ectomycorrhizal Fungi in Southwestern Himalayas

“…Substriatinae X.H. Wang and Buyck from China, Wisitrassameewong et al [ 7 ] described three species in the Russula sect. Amoeninae Buyck and Caboň et al [ 8 ] described three species of R. globispora lineage from Asia.…”

“…Implementation of molecular techniques and use of ITS rDNA sequence as a barcoding tool proved that Asia has EcM taxa endemic to the continent [ 6 ]. Systematic research on some Russula lineages suggests existence of multiple diversity pools in the area of southern Asia [ 7 ], but diversity of northern boreal part of Asia probably in major parts overlaps with Europe [ 8 ]. Evidence regarding the endemic EcM species to southeastern and southern Asia boosted efforts to describe the local diversity.…”

Two New Russula Species (Fungi) from Dry Dipterocarp Forest in Thailand Suggest Niche Specialization to This Habitat Type

“…relatively large spores, obtuse and relatively wide hymenial cystidia on the lamellae sides, and usually only one unbranched short cell below the terminal cell of hyphae in pileipellis). Distinction between these two species can be made by the more prominent spore ornamentation and the often acute hymenial cystidia of R. luteonana [7].…”

“…Some species are apparently distributed in larger areas and even separated by the sea, e.g. R. castanopsidis Hongo known from Japan and Korea 6 or R. bella Hongo distributed in Japan, Korea and China 7 . Some earlier studies have included a number of Thai collections in ITS phylogenies, but these studies had insu cient sampling of closely related taxa to determine species limits 8, 9,10 .…”

“…Russula subsect. Amoeninae is a well-de ned phylogenetic lineage and, based on publicly available ITS sequence data, it includes at least 30 species worldwide, eight of which are Asian and ve have been formally described 7 . In this study, we will specify whether Thai Amoeninae match any of the previously described members of the lineage or whether they represent new species.…”