Otidea subterranea sp. nov.: Otidea goes below ground.
Evidence suggests that truffle-like sporocarp forms have evolved many times in the Pezizales, but primarily from epigeous ancestors within ectomycorrhizal clades. There are several ectomycorrhizal clades, however, that contain no known hypogeous species. We collected specimens of an unusual unidentified truffle from mixed oak woodlands in Iowa. Although clearly a member of the Pezizales (Ascomycota), this hypogeous species did not belong to any of the described truffle genera. Based on a combination of ecological, phylogenetic, and morphological evidence we determined that this new truffle is a hypogeous member of the genus Otidea (Pyronemataceae), a lineage with no described truffle species. We describe it here as a new species, Otidea subterranea.
Farlow Herbarium of Cryptogamic Botany, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. mesmith@oeb.harvard.edu
Matthew E
ME
Smith
Rosanne A
RA
Healy
D001203:Ascomycota / Q000145:classification* / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012339:RNA, Ribosomal, 28S / Q000235:genetics; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000145:classification / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification
D004271:DNA, Fungal; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012339:RNA, Ribosomal, 28S