Tulostoma grandisporum Jeppson, Altes , G. Moreno & E. Larss.

Jeppson, Mikael, Altes, Alberto, Moreno, Gabriel, Nilsson, R. Henrik, Yolanda Loarce,, Bustos, Alfredo de & Larsson, Ellen, 2017, Unexpected high species diversity among European stalked puffballs - a contribution to the phylogeny and taxonomy of the genus Tulostoma (Agaricales), MycoKeys 21, pp. 33-88 : 52-54

Tulostoma grandisporum Jeppson, Altes, G. Moreno & E. Larss. sp. nov. Figure 9

Holotype.

Hungary, Pest, Csévharaszt, Csévharaszti borokás, in sand steppe vegetation: Festucetum vaginatae , T. Knutsson, U. Andersson, T. Gunnarsson, M. Jeppson, 11 Apr. 2011, M. Jeppson 8907 (GB! paratype AH).

Etymology.

The name refers to the large spores.

Description.

Spore-sac subglobose, 3-8 mm. Endoperidium hyphal, encrusting sand. Endoperidium greyish white to pale greyish ochraceous with some adhering sand grains, smooth. Mouth fibrillose-fimbriate, slightly mammose (Figure 9f). Socket inconspicuous. Stem slender, 15-23 x 1-2 mm, whitish to pale yellowish brown towards the base, which is slightly widened, covered by sand and provided with a distinct pseudorhiza (Figure 9a,e). Capillitium 3-7 µm in diameter, with irregular, undulating inner walls (Figure 9b). Septa scarce, not or only very slightly widened. Spores subglobose, 5.5-7.0 µm (av. 6.5 µm), smooth under light microscopy and SEM (Figure 9c, g–i).

Habitat and distribution.

Recorded in exposed sand steppe habitats in Hungary and Slovakia. Usually not very numerous in its localities.

Notes.

The species reminds of the new species T. pannonicum in its habit, but a check under the microscope is enough to distinguish T. grandisporum . Tulostoma leiosporum R.E. Fr., described from S. America, is similar to T. grandisporum in macro-morphology but differs in spore size (lectotype: 4.5-5.5 µm according to Moreno et al. 1997). The lectotype of T. leiosporum has the same type of ragged, undulating inner walls of the capillitium.

Other specimens examined.

HUNGARY, Bács-Kiskun: Kerekegyháza, Kákás-Király tó, sandy pasture along wheel track, 16 Apr. 2009, U. Andersson, T. Gunnarsson, M. Jeppson 8924 (GB)*; Kiskunhalas, sandy grassland, 19 Jan. 2014, P. Finy 10 (GB)*; Lakitelek, Szikra, 300 m SE of railway station, along railway, on sandy path, 17 Feb. 2004, J. Jeppson, M. Jeppson 6633 (GB)*; Ibidem, 10 Apr. 2006, J. Jeppson, M. Jeppson 7734, 7735 (GB); Pest: Örkény, military training field halfway between Tatárszentgyörgy and Örkény, sand steppe vegetation, 14 Oct. 2008, T. Knutsson, E. Larsson, J. Nilsson, M. Jeppson 8793 (GB)*. SLOVAKIA, Podunajská nížina: Marcelová, Marcelovské piesky, on sand, 8 Dec. 2013, P. Brůžek 131208 (GB)*.