Morchella universitatis Q. Qin & X. H. Du, 2025

Qin, Qin, Teng, Yan-Fei, Hu, Wen Shu, Wei, Jing-Yi, Yu, Zhong-Dong, Du, Ping, Zhang, Xiao-Yan, Guo, Xia, Chen, Meng-Qian, Wei, Wei & Du, Xi-Hui, 2025, Unexpected richness and distinct patterns of Morchella (Ascomycota) species diversity in Chongqing, a notable “ Furnace City ”: unveiling rich diversity in hot regions, IMA Fungus 16, pp. e 152685-e 152685 : e152685-

Morchella universitatis Q. Qin & X. H. Du sp. nov.

Figs 2 M – R , 9 A

Etymology.

The specific epithet universitatis comes from the Latin noun universitas, - atis (f.), meaning “ university ” or “ community of scholars. ” Used here in the genitive singular, universitatis translates as “ of the university, ” referring to the species’ recurrent occurrence on university campuses.

Diagnosis.

Middle-appearing, small- to middle-sized morel, characterized by an oval or bluntly conical pileus with deep and dense or sparse (depending on individuals) pits in irregular sizes and shapes and primary vertical and transecting horizontal ridges. Pileus grayish at juvenility and yellowish at maturity. Stipe whitish to yellowish, of medium length, obviously wrinkled at the surface, glabrous, or finely mealy with yellowish granules. Paraphyses slender, sometimes slightly inflated at the apex. Usually occurring in subtropical broad-leaved mixed forest, associated with Buxus sp. , Kalopanax sp. , Rheum sp. , Cupressus sp. , and Pinus sp. , sometimes beside weeds.

Type.

China • 1; Chongqing Municipality , Chengkou County. 26 Apr 2024, Q. Qin ( FCNU 1318 — holotype preserved in the Fungal Herbarium of Chongqing Normal University). GenBank: ITS = PV 156389 ; EF 1 - a = PV 227258 ; RPB 1 = PV 227214 ; RPB 2 = PV 175858 .

Description.

Ascomata 123 mm high. Hymenophore 45 mm high; 47 mm wide at the widest point; irregularly campanulate; margin slightly undulate; yellow to light yellowish-brown; pitted and ridged, with 8–10 primary vertical ridges and some shorter, secondary vertical ridges, and transecting horizontal ridges, forming a honeycomb-like structure. Ridges finely tomentose; light yellow before full maturity. Pits asymmetrical, usually irregularly polygonal; mainly small to middle; in high dense; glabrous or finely tomentose; deep and irregular in outline and size; pale brownish yellow to yellowish brown. Stipe 78 mm high, 15 mm wide, clavate to subclavate, finely mealy with scattered whitish to yellowish granules. Context whitish; 1–2 mm thick in the hollow hymenophore; sometimes slightly chambered near the base. Sterile inner surface whitish and pubescent.

Ascospores (19.55 -) 20.31–25.96 (- 29.04) × (10.44 -) 11.81–16.78 (- 17.57) μm (Q = 1.38–2.17, Qm = 1.62 ± 0.17), subelliptical to elliptical, with nearly irregular longitudinal and interconnecting transverse ornamentation; contents homogeneous. Asci cylindrical, eight-spored, (244.23 -) 285.57–395.55 (- 397.40) × (17.18 -) 18.74–25.82 (- 25.96) μm. Paraphyses, generally rounded to subclavate, septate, (149.11 -) 153.29–201.79 (- 217.93) × (10.96 -) 11.09–17.22 (- 17.38) μm, but difficult to measure their length. Elements on sterile ridges (63.86 -) 77.17–106.42 (- 106.75) × (13.51 -) 13.99–21.23 (- 23.09) μm. The number of ascospores in asci varies from two, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, and ten.

Habitat.

Solitary or in clusters of two on the ground, occurring under Rheum sp.

Distribution.

This species is only known from China.

Other specimens examined.

China • 1; Chongqing Municipality , Chengkou County. 26 Apr 2024, Q. Qin ( FCNU 1325 — paratype preserved in the Fungal Herbarium of Chongqing Normal University) . China • 1; Chongqing Municipality , Qianjiang District. 8 Apr 2024, Q. Qin ( FCNU 1368 — paratype preserved in the Fungal Herbarium of Chongqing Normal University) . China • 1; Chongqing Municipality , Qianjiang District. 8 Apr 2024, Q. Qin ( FCNU 1381 — paratype preserved in the Fungal Herbarium of Chongqing Normal University) .

Comments.

This morphologically distinct species corresponds to the previously reported phylospecies Morchella sp. Mes- 19 determined by multi-gene phylogenetic analysis in Du et al. (2012 a).

Figures

Figure 2. Morphological diversity of representative ascocarps of Morchella species collected in Chongqing, China. These ascocarps belong to 12 species from the Esculenta clade (A-F, H-S, V-X, yellow morels) and three from the Elata clade (G, T-U, black morels). A, B. M. chinensis. C. M. huoguo. D. M. nipponensis. E. M. esculenta. F. M. clivicola. G. M. diversa. H – J. M. eoa. K – L. M. montana. M – R. Juvenile and mature ascocarps of M. universitatis. S. M. galilaea. T. M. sextelata. U. M. pulchella. V. Mes - 10. W. Mes - 12. X. Mes - 23. Species names of the six newly described and one newly recorded species are highlighted in bold in the figure.

Figure 9. Morphological characteristics of new species, Morchella universitatis, Morchella montana, Morchella diversa, and one new record, Morchella nipponensis. A. Macro- and micro-morphological character of Morchella universitatis sp. nov. (FCNU 1318). A 1. Ascocarp. A 2. Acroparaphyses. A 3. Paraphyses. A 4. Ascus. A 5. SEM image of an ascospore, with irregular longitudinal and interconnecting transverse ornamentation. B. Macro- and micro-morphological characters of Morchella montana sp. nov. (FCNU 1206). B 1. Ascocarp. B 2. Acroparaphyses. B 3. Paraphyses. B 4. Ascus. B 5. SEM image of an ascospore, with regular longitudinal ornamentation. C. Macro- and micro-morphological characters of Morchella diversa sp. nov. (FCNU 1247). C 1. Ascocarp. C 2. Acroparaphyses. C 3. Paraphyses. C 4. Ascus. C 5. SEM image of an ascospore, with regular longitudinal ornamentation. D. Macro- and micro-morphological characters of Morchella nipponensis (FCNU 1438). D 1. Ascocarp. D 2. Acroparaphyses. D 3. Paraphyses. D 4. Ascus. D 5. SEM image of an ascospore, with irregular longitudinal and interconnecting transverse ornamentation. Scale bars: 5 μm (A 2 – A 4, B 2 – B 5, C 2 – C 5, D 2 – D 4); 10 μm (A 5, D 5).