Phallus lutescens 2020

Phallus lutescens T.H. Li, T. Li & W.Q. Deng, sp. nov. 2020

MycoBank ID: MB831827

Holotype: CHINA. Guangdong Province, Guangzhou City, South China Botanical Garden, at 113°21′55′′ E, 23°11′23′′ N, 23 m alt., 15 Jun. 2018, coll. by Ming Zhang & Wangqiu Deng (Holotype, GDGM 72218).

Morphological description

Mature basidiomata up to 130 mm high. Receptacle subovoid to campanulate, 15–20 mm high, 16–23 mm broad, obviously densely reticulated with irregular ridges and irregularly polygonal meshes, often covered with olive brown gleba, yellowish white (1A2) to pale yellow (2A3) or light yellow (2A4) under gleba, margin pendent to slightly upturned, with a prominent perforate pore 2–3.5 mm in diam. at the truncate apex. Gleba olive brown (4E4–8, 4F3–8), mucilaginous. Pseudostipe cylindrical, usually tapered upwards and enlarged downwards, 70–90 mm high, 9–11/13–17/20–23 mm thick (apex/middle/base), snow white (1A1), to very weak cream white, fragile and soft, spongiform, hollow; pseudostipe wall 1.5–3 mm thick, usually consisting of two layers of small chambers. Indusium latticed, white, yellowish white (1A2) to pale yellow (3A3) when young and fresh, becoming light yellow (4A4) to deep yellow (4A7) when mature or dried, expanded to 2/3–5/6 portion of pseudostipe, rarely reaching ground. Apertures of indusium usually polygonal, 3–6 mm broad. Volva globose or slightly obovate, 25–35 mm high, 22–30 mm broad, smooth or lightly rugose, dull white (4A1–2) to yellowish grey (4B2) or pinkish white (7B2–10A2), more often pinkish white (10A2) at base. Rhizomorphs simple to branched, dull white (4A1) to pinkish white (7A2–10A2), 1–3 mm thick. Odour foetid (mainly from gleba). taste mild.

 Basidiospores cylindrical to long ellipsoid, [80/4/4] (3.0–)3.2–3.8(–4.3) × (1.1–)1.3–1.6(–1.8) μm, Q= (2.00–)2.19– 2.46 (–2.71), Qm = 2.35 ± 0.15, hyaline and light olivaceous in H₂O and 5% KOH solution, inamyloid, thin-walled, smooth under the light microscope, slightly truncate at one end under the SEM. Hyphae of receptacle, pseudostipe and indusium hyaline, thin-walled, pseudoparenchymatic, consisting of globose to subglobose or irregularly globose structures, up to 45 μm in diam. Hyphae of volva tubular and branched, 2.5–10 μm in diam., thin-walled, smooth, septate, with clamp-connections. Hyphae of rhizomorph filamentous, 2.5–7.0 μm in diam., thin-walled, smooth, septate, rarely branched.

Habitat: on soil with decaying litter under broad-leaved trees dominated by Melaleuca cajuputi subsp. cumingiana 

Distribution: Guangdong Province in southern China.  

GenBank Accession: LSU MN131077, MN131074, MN131075, MN131076; ITS MN131081, MN131080, MN131079, MN131078

Notes: 

Reference: TING LI^1,4, TAIHUI LI^1,5*, WANGQIU DENG^1,6 et al.

Basidiomata of Phallus lutescens from fresh to dried (a–d). a: GDGM 49991. b: GDGM 72218 (holotype). c: GDGM 76604. d: Sections of GDGM 72218 (holotype). Scale bars: a–d = 20 mm. Photos by Ming Zhang and Ting Li.