Abstract
Steppe vegetation on sandy soil in Hungary has recently been revealed as one of the hot spots in Europe for the stalked puffballs (genus Tulostoma). In the framework of the taxonomic revision of gasteroid fungi in Hungary, four Tulostoma species are described here as new to science: T. dunense, T. hungaricum, T. sacchariolens and T. shaihuludii. The study is based on detailed macro- and micromorphological investigations (including light and scanning electron microscopy), as well as a three-locus phylogeny of nrDNA ITS, nrDNA LSU and tef1-α sequences. The ITS and LSU sequences generated from the type specimen of T. cretaceum are provided and this resolved partly the taxonomy of the difficult species complex of T. aff. cretaceum.
Key words: Gasteroid, hot spot, molecular systematics, Pannonian inland sand dune thicket, phylogeny, taxonomy, Tulostomataceae
Tulostoma dunense Finy, Jeppson, L. Albert, Ölvedi, Dima & V. Papp, sp. nov.
Etymology: The epithet refers to the continental, open, bare sandy habitat of this species, similar to coastal dunes.
Tulostoma hungaricum Finy, Jeppson, L. Albert, Ölvedi & Dima, sp. nov.
Etymology: With reference to Hungary where it was discovered.
Tulostoma sacchariolens Finy, Jeppson, L. Albert, Ölvedi & Dima, sp. nov.
Etymology: The epithet refers to its unique sweetish floral smell reminiscent of that of, for example, Hebeloma sacchariolens.
Tulostoma shaihuludii Finy, Jeppson, L. Albert, Ölvedi, D.G. Knapp & Dima, sp. nov.
Etymology: The epithet refers to its being reminiscent of the sandworm Shai-Hulud of the fictional planet Arrakis from the science fiction novel series Dune by Frank Herbert.
Péter Finy, Mikael Jeppson, Dániel G. Knapp, Viktor Papp, László Albert, István Ölvedi, Károly Bóka, Dóra Varga, Gábor M. Kovács and Bálint Dima. 2023. Exploring Diversity within the Genus Tulostoma (Basidiomycota, Agaricales) in the Pannonian Sandy Steppe: Four fascinating Novel Species from Hungary. MycoKeys. 100: 153-170. DOI: 10.3897/mycokeys.100.112458