Search

During surveys of macrofungi in Pakistan, eight specimens belonging to the genus Lactocollybia were collected from the plains of Punjab and foothills of Murree. Morphological studies and molecular characterization refer all collections to a single species, Lactocollybia variicystis, previously restricted to Africa and Europe; this is the first report from Asia. Except for geography, no significant differences were found among African, European, and Pakistani collections.

Pluteus variabilicolor and Volvopluteus earlei are reported as new records for the Pakistani funga, with the former representing a new record for South Asia and the latter, a second report from Asia. Morphological descriptions are accompanied by colored photographs of basidiomata and microscopic structures. Identity of both species is confirmed by ITS sequence analyses. Comparison with previous descriptions and data on their distributions are briefly discussed.

Gerhardtia foliicola is reported as a new record for Pakistan. The species is characterized by a reddish brown and hygrophanous pileus, densely crowded lamellae, small sized ellipsoid basidiospores with irregular outline and occurrence on leaf litter and humus in broadleaf forests. Our phylogenetic analysis based on nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (nrITS) region clustered the Pakistani collections in the same clade with G. foliicola sequences from Japan. Detailed description of macro- and micro-characters, habitat, general distribution, and diagnostic features important for delimiting G. foliicola from closely related taxa are presented.