title: Species clarification of the culinary Bachu mushroom in western China.
abstract: The Bachu mushroom, previously identified as Helvella leucopus, is characterized by a saddle-shaped, to irregularly lobed pileus, with a gray, brown to blackish hymenium and a whitish to pale receptacle surface and white, terete stipe with enlarged basal grooves. It has high economic value, mostly as a dietary supplement in western China, and its medicinal functions have raised broad interest. In the present paper species of the Bachu mushroom in Xinjiang Autonomous Region, western China were investigated with morphology and DNA sequence data. Phylogenetic analyses inferred from ITS, 28S and TEF1 sequence data strongly supported lineages corresponding to morphological features. The Bachu mushroom, which differs from the European Helvella leucopus, comprises two distinct new species, namely Helvella bachu and Helvella subspadicea. In this paper we introduce the new species with descriptions and figures and compare them with similar taxa. The European Helvella spadicea is also re-examined, described and illustrated.
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology and Germplasm Resources Institute, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, 650223 People's Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, 650201 People's Republic of China; School of Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, 57100 Thailand.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 830046 People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Mamtimin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sulayman
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730070 People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xue-Tai
authors.initials: XT
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology and Germplasm Resources Institute, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, 650223 People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yong-Chang
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, 650201, People's Republic of China fungi@mail.kib.ac.cn kdhyde3@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Zhu-Liang
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, 650201 People's Republic of ChinaCenter of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah LuangUniversity, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand fungi@mail.kib.ac.cn kdhyde3@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kevin D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Hyde
mesh_terms: D000363:Agaricales / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D002681:China; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D020648:Peptide Elongation Factor 1 / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D012339:RNA, Ribosomal, 28S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; D020648:Peptide Elongation Factor 1; D012339:RNA, Ribosomal, 28S
keywords: Helvellaceae; phylogeny; sand-inhabiting fungi; taxonomy