Species clarification of fairy inkcap (“Coprinellus disseminatus”) in China

Abstract

Coprinellus disseminatus and other morphologically similar species are widely dispersed worldwide and are commonly referred to as “fairy inkcap”. Based on the molecular phylogenetic study and morphological observation, a thorough investigation was carried out utilising 74 collections of related species that were gathered from seventeen provinces and five Chinese fungaria between 1998 and 2023 and revealed 11 lineages of “fairy inkcap”, nine of which were found in China, and which belonged to the two genera Coprinellus and Tulosesus. In sect. Disseminati, genetic diversities (π), and fixation index (Fst) amongst lineages were computed, and a haplotype-based network was established to ascertain the relationships amongst each clade. A new section of Coprinellus, sect. Aureodisseminati, were discovered. In addition, four new species (C. aureodisseminatus, C. austrodisseminatus, C. parcus, and C. velutipes), a new subspecies of C. disseminatus, a new combination (Tulosesus pseudodisseminatus), the first discovery of epigamous type of C. magnoliae and a new record to China (T. subdisseminatus) were also identified and thoroughly described with accompanying illustrations. Their differences in macro- and micro-features, as well as their character sequence, were discussed.