Xerocomellus (Boletaceae) in western North America

Abstract

Understanding diversity in the genus Xerocomellus in western North America has been obscured by morphological variability, widespread use of species epithets typified by specimens from Europe and eastern North America, misunderstood phylogenetic relationships, and species complexes. We collected extensively and used genetic and morphological data to establish the occurrence of ten Xerocomellus species in western North America. We generated ITS sequences from five type collections and from vouchered representative collections to clarify our understanding of existing species concepts. We describe three new species (Xerocomellus atropurpureus, X. diffractus, and X. salicicola) and propose two new combinations (X. amylosporus and X. mendocinensis), transfer Boletus coccyginus to Hortiboletus, and provide a dichotomous key to species of Xerocomellus in western North America.