Russula griseocarnosa sp. nov. (Russulaceae, Russulales), a commercially important edible mushroom in tropical China: mycorrhiza, phylogenetic position, and taxonomy

A new species, Russula griseocarnosa, which was popularly commercially collected as food and medicine and misnamed as European R. vinosa for a long time, is described from tropical China. The dark red sticky pileus, initially greyish context, white spore print, subglobose to ellipsoid basidiospores with high and acute warts, and the pileipellis without dermatocystidia make this new taxon well defined. It resembles R. vinosa in the greyish tinge of the context and the pileipellis structure, but differs from the latter in its white spore print, significantly higher spines on basidiospores, and growing in forests with Fagaceae rather than in coniferous forests. The molecular analysis, based on a combined ITS - nLSU-rDNA sequence data get, showed that R. griseocarnosa clustered with R. vinosa but is clearly distinct from the latter. The phylogenetic placement is further supported by its ectomycorrhizal morphology.