Scleroderma suthepense Kumla, Suwannar. & Lumyong

(3.3) Scleroderma suthepense Kumla, Suwannar. & Lumyong View in CoL ,

Mycotaxon 123: 2 (2013)

( Fig. 19 View FIGURE 19 )

Description:— Basidiomata small, 12–35 mm in diameter, 8–29 mm in height including a stipe 4–12 mm long, subglobose to tuberiform; odor fungal; taste mainly fungal, slightly sweet. Peridium leathery, 0.5–1.5 mm thick, merino white (#F9F5EC) to pale dirty orange (#FAF4E3), turning reddish to purplish after damaged, with granular, dirty milky brown (#B7A48D) to flint brown (#736960) squamules. Gleba compact at first, becoming pulverulent, cottonseed gray (# BEC 0BB), coal blue (#40474D) to dull black (#0B0C0E). Basal rhizomorphs abundant, whitish.

Basidiospores {40/4/1} (7.5) 8–11.5 [9.60 ± 0.93, 9.50] µm in diameter including ornamentation, mostly globose, rarely subglobose, thick-walled, with reticulate ornamentation 1–2.5 µm high, brownish to purplish, often surrounded by remnants of placental cells. Basidia collapsed. Gleba trama composed of 2.5–6.5 μm wide, thin-walled to slightly thick-walled, nearly colorless to slightly brownish, compact, moderately branching, subregularly arranged to interwoven hyphae occasionally with clamp connections. Peridial squamules composed of 3–5.5 μm wide, slightly thick-walled, brownish, moderately compact, moderately to frequently branching, subregularly arranged to interwoven hyphae without clamp connections. Peridial trama composed of 3–6.5 μm wide, slightly thick-walled to thick-walled, nearly colorless to slightly brownish, compact, moderately to frequently branching, subregularly arranged to interwoven hyphae without clamp connections.

Habits and distribution:— Gregarious, on soil, in tropical to subtropical forests, associated with plants of Fagaceae , Myrtaceae , Pinaceae and Rosaceae . Currently known from Asia ( China & Thailand) and North America ( USA) with molecular evidence.

Collections examined:— China, Guangdong Province, Guangzhou City, Huangpu District, Jiangdong Village , Boluoshan Hill , 23°11'32"N, 113°32'25"E, elevation 150 m, May 14, 2023, Kun L. Yang, Jia Y. Lin & Zhen-Chao Liu, K23223 ( HTBM0738 ). GoogleMaps China, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Yulin City, Xingye County, exact location unknown, June 3, 2023, Kun L. Yang, kindly donated by anonymous net friends, S2390 ( HTBM0333 ). China, Guangdong Province, Guangzhou City, Huangpu District, Jiangdong Village , Boluoshan Hill , 23°11'32"N, 113°32'25"E, elevation 150 m, August 21, 2023, Zhen-Chao Liu, Jia Y. Lin & Kun L. Yang, S23457 ( HTBM1568 ). GoogleMaps China, Guangdong Province, Guangzhou City, Tianhe District, South China Agricultural University , Arboretum , 23°09'27"N, 113°21'22"E, elevation 40 m, September 11, 2023, Jia Y. Lin, L23411 ( HTBM1392 ). GoogleMaps

Notes:— This species looks similar to Scleroderma venenatum and its allies in macromorphology, but the basidiospore ornamentation can easily distinguish them.