Volvariella surrecta (Knapp) Singer, Lilloa

Caballero, Fernando, Justo, Alfredo, Parra, Luis A., Angelini, Claudio, Consiglio, Giovanni, Dovana, Francesco, Ferisin, Giuliano, Kaygusuz, Oğuzhan, Knudsen, Henning, Llimona, Xavier, Muñoz, Guillermo, Daniëls, Pablo P., Pérez-De-Gregorio, Miquel À., Ševčíková, Hana, Valverde, Andrés & Vizzini, Alfredo, 2025, Taxonomic and phylogenetic overview of the genus Volvariella (Volvariellaceae), with a focus on European species, Phytotaxa 680 (1), pp. 1-85 : 41-44

11. Volvariella surrecta (Knapp) Singer, Lilloa 22: 401. 1951 [“1949”]. ( Fig. 19 ) ≡ Agaricus surrectus Knapp , The Journal of a Naturalist: 363. 1829 [basionym] ≡ Volvaria surrecta (Knapp) Ramsb., Transactions of the British Mycological Society 25(3): 326. 1942 ≡ Agaricus loveanus Berk. in Smith, The English Flora (ed. 2), 5(2) Fungi: 104. 1836 [ “ loveianus ”] ≡ Volvaria loveana (Berk.) Gillet, Hyménomycètes : 386. 1874 [“ loveiana ”] ≡ Volvariopsis loveana (Berk.) Murrill , North American Flora 10(2): 140. 1917 [“ loweiana ”] ≡ Volvaria hypopithys subsp. loveana (Berk.) Konrad & Maubl., Icones Selectae Fungorum Fasc. 1: Tab. 17, Fig. 2 . 1925 [“ loweana ”] Typification status:— Neotype, designated by R.L. Shaffer: UNITED KINGDOM, England, Wothorpe near Stamford, Norths., parasitic on half decayed and, in general, distorted specimens of A. nebularis , 10 October 1833, ex herbario M.J. Berkeley 762, K(M)233975.

The neotype designated by Shaffer (1957) is at the same time the holotype specimen of Agaricus loveanus Berk. [ “ loveianus ”].

Description:— Pileus 30–80 mm diam., ovoid when young, expanding to hemispheric-convex, conico-campanulate, and finally plano-convex in older specimens, with or without a distinct central umbo; surface tomentose-fibrillose, covered with fibrils that group into minute squamules all over, even exceeding the pileus margin; white, sometimes with grey or grey-brown tinges; not hygrophanous; margin not striate, irregular. Lamellae crowded, free, broadly ventricose; white when young, becoming salmon pink or pinkish brown with age; edge irregular, white and floccose, or concolourous and more or less even. Stipe 30–70 × 5–10 mm, cylindrical, slightly widening towards the base, straight or curved; surface white, with grey or grey-brown tinges; surface smooth to fibrillose. Volva membranaceous, saccate, white, sometimes with grey tinges, with 2–4 lobes; rhizomorphs not observed. Context white with indistinct smell.

Basidiospores (n=349, c=5) 5.2–7.4 × 3.5–5.2 μm, avl × avw = 6.3 × 4.1 μm, Q = 1.23–1.92, avQ = 1.55, broadly ellipsoid to oblong, thick-walled, sometimes with a median constriction, with barely distinct hilar appendage. Basidia 27–45 × 6–8 μm, tetrasterigmate, clavate or subcylindrical. Lamella edge sterile or heterogeneous. Cheilocystidia common, (18–)27–100(–120) × (7–)10–25(–35) μm, lageniform with or without mucronate apex, fusiform, lanceolate, clavate. Pleurocystidia scarce, 49–114 × 13–40 µm, scattered, similar to the cheilocystidia. Pileipellis a cutis or an intermediate cutis-trichoderm, with terminal elements, 12–40 μm wide, often constricted at the septa; hyaline. Stipitipellis a cutis or a cutis-trichoderm in the upper part of the stipe, with cylindrical hyphae, 5–13 μm wide. Volva composed of interwoven, cylindrical hyphae, 6–36 μm wide, with common septa; with some differentiated, cystidioid, terminal cells, 82–89 × 36–46 µm, clavate or fusiform. Clamp connections absent in all parts examined.

Habit, habitat, and phenology:—Gregarious. Growing on basidiomes of Clitocybe nebularis . October–December (including data from Justo & Castro 2010).

Distribution:—Widespread in Europe. Also recorded from North America ( Shaffer 1957) and reported from New Zealand [see e.g., https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/12729741].

Additional collections examined:— SLOVENIA. Obrov: Poljane, parasitic on Clitocybe nebularis , 11 October 2018, G. Ferisin, FG11112018-077. SPAIN. Burgos: Treviño, Bajauri, growing on an unidentifiable mushroom, 10 November 1997,ARAN-Fungi07905; Gipuzkoa, Miramon, SS-Donostia, parasitic on Clitocybe nebularis , 17 December 2014, P. Arrillaga, ARAN-Fungi02026; Girona:Torrent, parasitic on Clitocybe nebularis , 28 December 1995, J. Carbó, JC19951228-3; Espinelves, parasitic on Clitocybe nebularis , 8 November 2008, M. Tabarés, SFC081108-T; Navarra: Valle de Esteribar, parasitic on Clitocybe nebularis , 31 October 2015, L.M. García-Bona, LMGB4941; Pontevedra: Lourizán, on basidiomes of Clitocybe nebularis , 10 December 1997, J.B. Blanco-Dios, AJ55 (LOU-Fungi 9286).

Nomenclatural comments:—Berkeley’s original epithet loveianus commemorating Reverend R. T. Lowe must be corrected to loveanus according to Art. 60.8c, but not to an epithet beginning with lowe - because Berkeley’s intentional Latinization Love is not among the situations in which the epithet should be changed according to Art. 60.9.

Observations:— Volvariella surrecta is easily characterized by its habitat, growing directly on basidiomes of Clitocybe nebularis (Batsch) P. Kumm (1871: 124) . Volvariella surrecta appears to be the only species in the genus capable of parasitizing and growing on the surface of basidiomes of Clitocybe nebularis . Although all collections analyzed in this study show a close relationship with C. nebularis , previous studies based on morphological analyses reported that V. surrecta is also capable of parasitizing Ampulloclitocybe clavipes (Pers.) Redhead et al. (2002: 36) , Clitopilus prunulus (Scop.) P. Kumm. (1871: 96) , Melanoleuca species, and Tricholoma species ( Smith 1867, Buller 1958, Moser 1980, Breitenbach & Kränzlin 1995, Celka 2000). These reports will have to be confirmed by molecular analyses of collections made on those alternate hosts, to confirm they correspond indeed to V. surrecta .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Best tree from the Maximum Likelihood analysis of the ITS dataset of Volvariella: detailed view of the lineage including V. murinella and related taxa. BS ≥ 70 % and PP ≥ 0.90 are shown on or below the branches. Newly described taxa are highlighted in red.

FIGURE 19. Volvariella surrecta. A–B. Basidiomes. A. (FG11112018077); B. (SFC081108-T). C–H. Microscopic characters. C. Cheilocystidia (ARAN 7905); D. (JC19951228-3); E. Pleurocystidium (JC19951228-3); F. Spores (SFC081108-T); G. Pileipellis (ARAN02026); H–I. Volva hyphae (SFC081108-T). Bar: (C–G, I) = 10 µm; (H) = 100 µm. Photos by G. Ferisin (A), M. Tabarés (B), F. Caballero (C–I).