Cantharellus furcatus Bandala, Montoya & Ramos, 2021

Cantharellus furcatus Bandala, Montoya & Ramos nom. nov.

Craterellus confluens Bas. Craterellus confluens Berk. & M.A. Curtis, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 9: 423 (1867).

Cantharellus confluens Syn. Cantharellus confluens (Berk. & M.A. Curtis) R.H. Petersen, Sydowia 32: 201 (1979) nom. illeg.

Cantharellus confluens Non Cantharellus confluens (Schwein.) Schwein., Trans. Am. Phil. Soc., New Series 4: 153 (1834).

Merulius confluens = Merulius confluens Schwein., Schr. Nat. Ges. Leipzig 1: 92 (66 in reprint) (1822).

Byssomerulius corium = Byssomerulius corium (Pers.: Fr.) Parmasto, Eesti NSV Tead. Akad. Toim., ser Biol. 16: 383 (1967).

Holotype.

Mexico. Veracruz, Orizaba. Botteri 6 [ex herb. M.J. Berkeley] KM 173247 (K).

Gene sequences ex-holotype.

nLSUMT371345.

Etymology.

From Cantharellus furcatus (Lat.): forked, referring to a bifurcation developed in the basidiome.

Remarks.

Presumably having been separated from the entire collection, the holotype specimen consists of a single unipileate basidiome but the diagnostic feature mentioned by Berkeley (1867) “… stem divided above into numerous pilei …”, a feature practically not observed in close related species ( C. flavolateritius , C. lateritius , C. veraecrucis ) is present, as noted and depicted by Burt (1914), in the isotype collection at Farlow Herbarium (https://huh.harvard.edu/pages/farlow-herbarium-fh), and it is well-depicted and described for collections from SE USA studied by Petersen (1979). The particularity of producing multipileate basidiomes and/or with fused stipes, in combination with the smooth pileus surface, pileus and hymenophore predominantly orange colored ( aurantiacus in the diagnosis) hymenophore rugulose, irregularly forking and anastomosing, rarely smooth, with yellow stipe and lacking pinkish shades ( Petersen 1979), are the distinctive macroscopic features of C. furcatus .

The holotype specimen Botteri 6 (at K) of Cr. confluens was preserved in such a poor condition that it does not allow a proper rehydration of the tissues. The microscopic features recovered were: basidiospores of 7.5-8.5 × 5-6 µm ( X - = 7.8 × 5.3 µm), Q - = 1.46, broadly ellipsoid to ellipsoid, some subglobose, somewhat flattened adaxially, smooth, hyaline, thin-walled, inamyloid. Pileipellis a cutis composed of cylindrical hyphae 5-7 µm diam, compactly arranged, hyaline, yellowish colored in group; terminal hyphae 36-57 × 8-12 µm, clavate to broadly clavate, scattered, smooth, hyaline, inamyloid, thin to thick-walled (<1 µm thick). Clamp connections present (Fig. 6 View Figure 6 ). In the holotype Petersen (1979) registered basidiospores of 6.7-8.9 × 4.8-5.9 µm, Q - = 1.29-1.54 and of 7-10 × 5-6.3 µm, while in the isotype collection there is an annotation made in 1980 by Dr. H.E. Bigelow, describing basidiospores: 8-10 × 5.5-6.5 µm, ellipsoid or broadly ellipsoid or subglobose, smooth, inamyloid, basidia mostly collapsed, ± 41-52 × 6-7.5 µm, pileus with hyphae 4-10 µm diam, clamped, pigment apparently intracellular (https://huh.harvard.edu/pages/farlow-herbarium-fh).