Cantharellus veraecrucis Bandala, Montoya & M. Herrera, 2021

Montoya, Leticia, Herrera, Mariana, Bandala, Victor M. & Ramos, Antero, 2021, Two new species and a new record of yellow Cantharellus from tropical Quercus forests in eastern Mexico with the proposal of a new name for the replacement of Craterellus confluens, MycoKeys 80, pp. 91-114 : 91

Cantharellus veraecrucis Bandala, Montoya & M. Herrera sp. nov. Figs 2a, b , 3

Holotype.

Mexico. Veracruz: Municipality of Zentla, around town of Zentla, 850 m a.s.l., gregarious on ground, under Quercus oleoides Schltdl. & Cham., 5 July 2012, Bandala 4505 (XAL).

Diagnosis.

Differing from other related yellow Cantharellus species (subgenus Cantharellus) by the smooth hymenophore, often rugulose or with low, close, fine, irregular veins, pinkish-yellow, ellipsoid basidiospores 7-9 (-10.5) × (4.5-) 5-6.5 µm [Q -= 1.36-1.65], basidia (43-) 49-96 (-104) × 5-12 µm, pileipellis terminal hyphae 22-60 (-73) × 4-5.5 µm, subcylindrical, rarely subventricose, straight to moderately flexuous, wall ≤ 1 µm thick.

Gene sequences ex-holotype.

nLSUMT371344; tef -1α MT449712.

Etymology.

Referring to the locality of origin, in the State of Veracruz, Mexico.

Description.

Pileus 20-80 (-100) mm diam, convex to plane convex, then more or less applanate and centrally depressed, becoming concave and finally broadly infundibuliform; involute margin when young, later incurved and becoming recurved or plane or uplifted in old specimens, not striate, at first entire, becoming variably lobed and undulate; surface dry, when young with appressed fibrils forming a moderately fine, squamulose surface especially at the center, smooth to glabrescent with age, yellow, light yellow (2.5Y 8/3, 7/12, 10YR 4-5/2), pale orange to bright yellow-orange (3A7-8, 4A4-8, 5A4-8, 2.5Y 7/8-8/8, 10YR 6/8, 7/6-8, 8/8) and even brownish-orange (5B7), at times light gray (10YR 7/1-2, 7.5YR 7/1, 4B2) at the center, orange-buff (5B5), salmon-orange to dirty peach-orange (6A6, 6B3, 6B5) or even brown (6E5). Hymenophore decurrent, smooth overall, often rugulose or with low, close, simple or forked, fine, irregular veins; paler than the pileus, light rose (10YR 8/2-3;7.5YR 7/3-4, 8/4, 5A2-4) when young although with age still preserving pinkish tints on a pale yellow (4A2-3), light yellow (10YR 8/3-4, 8/6, 2.5Y 8/4), light orange (6A3-4), or even egg yellow (4A8) ground. Stipe 10-75 × 6-21 mm, equal, tapering gradually downwards, somewhat sinuous or curved, central, occasionally somewhat eccentric, solid, glabrous to subtomentose, at times with age the surface becomes detached in scattered fibrils concolorous with hymenophore, whitish with yellow tinges (4A3-4), pale to bright yellow (4A6-8), orange (5A4), to orange-brown tinges (4A8, 4B7-8, 5B7) especially towards the base, often staining ochraceous or rusty orange color when handle; base in some specimens villous to finely villous under lens. Context fleshy, fibrous in stipe, concolorous with pileus or paler, yellowish-buff, odor agreeable fruity, faintly to peach or somewhat recalling butter; taste mild, fruity agreeable, finally somewhat bitter. KOH 3% negative, only somewhat orange on pileus, NH4OH 10% negative.

Basidiospores 7-9 (-10.5) × (4.5-) 5-6.5 µm [X - = 7.8-8.9 × 5.3-6.1 µm, Q - = 1.36-1.65 (n = 12)], ellipsoid, smooth, thin-walled, hyaline, inamyloid. Basidia (43-) 49-96 (-104) × 5-12 µm, narrowly clavate to subcylindrical, with 2-5 sterigmata, thin-walled, hyaline, subhymenium composed of cylindrical hyphae 3-5 µm diam. Cystidia absent. Pileipellis a cutis composed of cylindrical hyphae 4-6 µm diam., intermingled in a compact arrangement, hyaline, yellowish colored in group; terminal hyphae 22-60 (-73) × 4-5.5 µm, subcylindrical, rarely subventricose, scattered, straight to moderately flexuous, smooth, hyaline, inamyloid, thick-walled (<1 µm thick). Pileus trama composed of cylindrical hyphae, 4-5 µm diam, slightly thick-walled (<1 µm thick), hyaline, some with weakly refringent contents. Hymenophoral trama composed of hyphae 4-5 µm diam, thin-walled, some with weakly refringent contents. Clamp connections present in all tissues.

Habitat.

Solitary to gregarious, on soil, in tropical oak forest, in the studied sites it is recorded frequently in monodominant stands of Quercus oleoides , being less frequent in monodominant stands of Q. glaucescens Bonpl. or Q. sapotifolia Liebm.; fruiting in June-October at the coastal plain of central Veracruz State, east coast of Mexico.

Specimens examined.

Mexico. Veracruz, Municipality of Zentla , Road Puentecilla-La Piña , 837 m a.s.l., 2 Jul 2009, Ramos 192, 193, 194; 21 Jun 2012, Herrera 23, 24, 28 ; 5 Jul 2012, Corona 649, 650, 653 ; 31 Jul 2012, Montoya 4887 ; 6 Nov 2013, Herrera 68. Around town of Zentla , 850 m a.s.l., 26 Jun 2013, Herrera 58, 59; 15 Jun 2016, Herrera 153, 154 ; 23 Jun 2016, Herrera 156 ; 6 Jul 2016, Herrera 175, 181, 183 ; 12 Jul 2016, Caro 71, Herrera 185, 186, 188, 190 ; 10 Aug 2016, Herrera 193 ; 5 Oct 2016, Melecio 16 ; 23 Oct 2018, Herrera 159 ; 12 Jul 2017, Montoya 5347 ; 21 Sep 2017, Garay 394, Garrido 88, 89 ; 20 Jun 2018, Herrera 232. Municipality of Alto Lucero, NE Mesa de Venticuatro , 450-500 m a.s.l., 17 Sep 2015, Herrera 140; 4 Sep 2018, Herrera 244. Jaguarundi Park , Coatzacoalcos 29 Sep 2015, Herrera 142, 143, 144, 145 (all at XAL) .

Remarks.

Cantharellus veraecrucis is distinguished by the basidiome colors, hymenophore smooth (or at times discontinuously rugulose) with pinkish tinges, and pileus surface with appressed fibrils. In some stage of development, it superficially might look like C. flavolateritius ; this latter, however, according to Buyck et al. (2016a) exhibits bright yellow colors on pileus, the hymenophore is composed of radially oriented, low anastomosing veins, “… locally almost smooth …”, paler stipe (yellow to off-white), narrowly ellipsoid, somewhat phaseoliform basidiospores (7.1-) 7.2-7.88-8.5 (-10.0) × (4.0-) 4.2- 4.71-5.2 (-5.8) μm, Q = (1.4-) 1.5-1.69-1.8 (-2.1) and pileipellis terminal hyphae often rather short, clavulate or apically slightly inflated, rarely ellipsoid, mostly 20-50 (-70) μm long, sometimes more or less wavy-undulate in outline.

In our phylogenetic analysis, C. veraecrucis is related also with C. lateritius . This latter species exhibits pale to deep yellow or even apricot orange ( Buyck et al. 2011) or bright orange or slightly pinkish orange colors ( Petersen 1979). Buyck et al. (2011) with their field experience also cited that C. lateritius “… has an often excentrical, sometimes laterally compressed, short to long, more or less yellow stipe that can remain white at the base but is concolorous with the cap higher up, and it has an almost smooth to clearly veined often slightly pinkish tinted hymenophore (the senior author has never seen absolutely smooth specimens)...". Based on our revision of the epitype of C. lateritius (Buyck 07.025 kept at PC, designated by Buyck and Hofstetter 2011), it microscopically differs from C. veraecrucis by the basidiospores shape (ellipsoid to slightly phaseoliform) and the terminal hyphae of the pileipellis, which are (19-) 21-60 (-70) × 5-11 µm, cylindrical to subclavate, tending to be wider than those of C. veraecrucis (Fig. 7 ).

The Asian Cantharellus hiananensis N.K. Zeng, Zhi Q. Liang & S. Jiang, appears related also to C. veraecrucis , but according to data by An et al. (2017), it differs from the Mexican species by its smaller basidiome size (pileus 25-55 mm diam., stipe 30-55 × 8-10 mm), paler hymenophore (cream to yellowish white), stipe usually hollow covered with tiny, yellow to pale yellowish brown scales, smaller, subcylindrical basidiospores [6-7.09-8 (-9) × (4-) 4.5-4.84-5 (-5.5) µm], and smaller basidia (50-70 × 7-10 µm), (4-) 5 (-6) -spored and pileipellis terminal hyphae 23-82 × 3-8 mm, narrowly clavate or subcylindrical, sometimes subfusiform, with obtuse apex.

Cantharellus veraecrucis represents a wild edible mushroom that is harvested for consumption and commercialization during the rainy season, in the study site and surroundings; it is known as "Oak mushroom". After our systematic multiyear sampling of basidiomes in the forests studied, we could observe that C. veraecrucis is a frequent chanterelle, and shares the same habit preferences as C. violaceovinosus , recently described from the same region ( Herrera et al. 2018).

Figures

Figure 2. Basidiomes of Cantharellus species a, b C. veraecrucis (a Bandala 4505, holotype b Herrera 142) c, d C. parvoflavus (c Montoya 5423, holotype d Herrera 229) e, f C. tabernensis (e Herrera 120 f Herrera 131). Scale bars: 10 mm.

Figure 3. Cantharellus veraecrucis (Bandala 4505, holotype) a basidiospores b terminal elements of the pileipellis c basidia d longitudinal section of pileipellis. Scale bars: 5 μm (a); 10 μm (b, c); 25 μm (d).

Figure 7. Terminal elements of the pileipellis of Cantharellus species a, b C. lateritius (a Buyck 05.058 b Buyck 07.025 epitype) c C. veraecrucis (Bandala 4505, holotype). Scale bar: 10 μm.