Nova Hedwigia Vol. 99 (2014) Issue 3–4, 541–550 Article published online July 10, 2014; published in print November 2014

Suillus himalayensis (Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes, Boletales), a new species associated with Pinus wallichiana from the northwestern Himalayas, India

Balwant Verma and M. Sudhakara Reddy* Department of Biotechnology, Thapar University, Patiala 147004, Punjab, India

Abstract: Suillus himalayensis sp. nov. is found in ectomycorrhizal association with Pinus wallichiana throughout the Barot valley in the district Mandi of Himachal Pradesh, India. The species can be distinguished morphologically by the yellow white to pale yellow pileus surface with light greenish tinge and brownish squamules, and the flesh color changing to grayish green and tubes to olive brown on bruising. The sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer region and the combination of morphological characters studied identify this as a distinct species from other closely related species of Suillus. Key words: Ectomycorrhizal, Himalayan, ITS, Suillaceae, Taxonomy.

Introduction

Suillus S.F.Gray is an ectomycorrhizal fungi belonging to the family Suillaceae. They are found in temperate, boreal, and Mediterranean forests mainly associated with the members of family Pinaceae and also with some deciduous species (Singer 1986, Kretzer et al. 1996, Wu et al. 2000). Many studies have shown that Suillus spp. improve the plant growth, survival, mineral nutrition, (Timonen et al. 1996, 1997; Wallander 2000; González et al. 2003; El Karkouri et al. 2006; Beatriz et al. 2006) and also provide tolerance against the heavy metal toxicity in pine seedlings (Colpaert et al. 2000, 2004; Adriaensen et al. 2003, 2005; Krznaric et al. 2009). Owing to their important role in forest ecology and rehabilitation, considerable research has been done on their diversity and evolutionary phylogenetics from many parts of the world (Smith and Thiers 1964, Corner 1972, Thiers 1979, Kretzer et al. 1996, Kretzer and Bruns 1997, Wu et al. 2000, Manian et al. 2001, Beatriz et al. 2006, Feng et al. 2008).

*Corresponding author: [email protected]

© 2014 J. Cramer in Gebr. Borntraeger Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart, www.borntraeger-cramer.de Germany. DOI: 10.1127/0029-5035/2014/0207 0029-5035/2014/0207 $ 2.50 541