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

Figs 2 A, B , 8 A, B

Etymology.

The specific epithet chinensis (Latin, chinensis = “ of China ”) refers to the country of origin of the type specimen, China.

Diagnosis.

Late-appearing, medium- to large-sized morel, characterized by an ovoid or bluntly conical pileus with deep and large pits in irregular sizes and with primary vertical and transecting horizontal ridges. Stipe long, usually inflated at the base, glabrous or finely mealy with yellowish granules. Paraphyses slender, obviously inflated at the apex. Usually occurring in subtropical broad-leaved forests, associated with Quercus sp. , Juglans sp. , and Castanea sp. , and sometimes beside weeds.

Type.

China • 1; Chongqing Municipality , Chengkou County. 26 Apr 2024, Q. Qin ( FCNU 1326 — holotype preserved in the Fungal Herbarium of Chongqing Normal University). GenBank: ITS = PV 156392 ; EF 1 - a = PV 227241 ; RPB 1 = PV 227235 ; RPB 2 = PV 204696 .

Description.

Ascomata 91 mm high. Hymenophore 17 mm high; 43 mm wide at the widest point; ovoid with a convex or bluntly conical; the hymenophore attached to the stipe with a sinus, 10–12 primary vertical ridges and some shorter, secondary vertical ridges, and transecting horizontal ridges, forming a honeycomb-like structure. Ridges finely tomentose; pale yellow to dark brown. Pits asymmetrical; deep and irregular in outline and size; glabrous or finely tomentose; primarily elongated vertically; pale yellowish to yellowish brown. Stipe clavate to subclavate, 74 mm high; 23 mm wide; glabrous or finely mealy with yellowish granules. Context whitish; 2–3 mm thick in the hollow hymenophore; sometimes slightly chambered near the base. Sterile inner surface whitish and pubescent.

Ascospores measuring (19.36 -) 19.98–25.08 (- 25.78) × (12.37 -) 12.49–14.88 (- 15.79) μm (Q = 1.46–1.78, Qm = 1.65 ± 0.08), elliptical to ovoid, with obviously regular longitudinal ornamentation; contents homogeneous. Asci cylindrical, eight-spored, (299.92 -) 310.98–385.80 (- 388.74) × (18.26 -) 19.85–24.54 (- 26.92) μm. Paraphyses, cylindrical in shape, apices generally rounded but occasionally subclavate to clavate, septate, (123.98 -) 130.51–239.75 (- 263.98) × (10.35 -) 10.73–17.78 (- 23.32) μm, but difficult to measure their length. Elements on sterile ridges (105.09 -) 116.22–214.51 (- 226.41) × (10.96 -) 13.57–19.30 (- 21.07) μm, difficult to measure their length. The number of ascospores in asci observed to vary among four, six, seven, and eight.

Habitat.

Solitary on the ground nearby weeds.

Distribution.

This species is only known from Chongqing, China, and Shaanxi, China.

Other specimens examined.

China • 1; Shaanxi Province, Ankang City , 15 May 2017, Z. D. Yu ( FCNU 1445 — preserved in the Fungal Herbarium of Chongqing Normal University) . China • 1; Shaanxi Province, Ankang City , 15 May 2017, Z. D. Yu ( FCNU 1446 — preserved in the Fungal Herbarium of Chongqing Normal University) . China • 1; Shaanxi Province, Xi’an City, Heihe Forest Park , May 2017, Z. D. Yu ( FCNU 1447 — preserved in the Fungal Herbarium of Chongqing Normal University) .

Comments.

In comparison to M. esculenta and several other species clustered as the sister species, the ascocarp of M. chinensis is usually more sharply conical than them, and its stipe is proportionally longer. In addition, the distribution of M. chinensis , currently only known from Shaanxi and Chongqing, China, is more limited than M. esculenta , which is widely distributed in Europe and Asia.

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 8. Morphological characteristics of new species, Morchella chinensis, Morchella huguo, and Morchella eoa, discovered in this study. A, B. Macro- and micro-morphological characters of Morchella chinensis sp. nov. (A. FCNU 1326; B. FCNU 1446). A 1, B 1. Ascocarps. A 2, B 2. Acroparaphyses; A 3, B 3. Paraphyses. A 4, B 4. Asci. A 5, B 5. SEM images of ascospores, with regular longitudinal ornamentation. C. Macro- and micro-morphological characters of Morchella huoguo sp. nov. (FCNU 1337). C 1. Ascocarp. C 2. Acroparaphyses. C 3. Paraphyses. C 4. Ascus. C 5. SEM image of an ascospore, with light irregular longitudinal and interconnecting transverse ornamentation. D. Macro- and micro-morphological characters of Morchella eoa sp. nov. (FCNU 1364). 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 4, C 2 – C 4, D 2 – D 5); 10 μm (A 5, B 5, C 5).