Abstract
Morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies of true morels (
Morchella) in North America, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru led to the discovery of four undescribed species of
Morchella. Two new species in the Elata clade, one from the Dominican Republic, initially distinguished by the informal designation
Mel-18, and a newly discovered sister species from northern Arizona, are now recognized.
Mel-18 is described as a novel phylogenetically distinct species,
M. hispaniolensis. Its sister species from Arizona is described as
M. kaibabensis, also recovered as an endophyte of Rocky Mountain juniper. Two additional species in the Esculenta clade,
M. peruviana discovered in Peru and
M. gracilis (previously reported as
Mes-14) from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Ecuador, are described as new. We also demonstrate that scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging of ascospores using rehydration/dehydration/ critical point drying preparation techniques provides for enhanced resolution of spore wall surfaces, thereby increasing the number of morphological traits available to assess differences among otherwise closely related species.
Keywords
Arizona,
Ascomycota,
Dominican Republic,
Ecuador,
endophytes,
molecular phylogenetics,
Morchellaceae,
Peru,
Pezizales,
Venezuela,
4 new taxa
Citation
Baroni, Timothy J.; Beug, Michael W.; Cantrell, Sharon A.; Clements, Teresa A.; Iturriaga, Teresa; Læssøe, Thomas; Holgado Rojas, María E.; Aguilar, Frank M.; Quispe, Miguel O.; Lodge, D. Jean; O'Donnell, Kerry. 2018. Four new species of
Morchella from the Americas. Mycologia. 110(6): 1205-1221. https://doi.org/10.1080/00275514.2018.1533772.
