A new species of calciphilous Cortinarius from the Czech Karst
The number of species of macrofungi in Central Europe is estimated to a several thousands. Despite the intensive work of European mycologists in the last decades, new macrofungal species are still being described from Europe. The occurrence of many species is influenced by geological bedrock. Macrofungi are not restricted to specific rocks but prefer basic or acid soils derived from various types of rocks. This relationship is one of the areas studied by the scientific discipline called geomycology.
Cortinarius species of the subgenus Phlegmacium represent species-rich group of macrofungi characterized by large and colorful fruit-bodies. Many of those species prefer basic soils, often in calcareous areas. The Czech Karst represents one of the most important areas with calciphilous mycobiota in the Czech Republic.
A beautifully colored Cortinarius species was recently found in the Czech Karst, characterized by features not corresponding to any other known species. A thorough investigation revealed other sites of this fungus in Bohemia and Moravia (all on Ca-rich soils); it was also found by Hungarian mycologists on limestone bedrock near Budapest. DNA sequencing has supported the idea that this nice Cortinarius represents a species not yet known to science. It was thus described as new and will be known under the name Cortinarius prodigiosus. Possibly, it may grow in your areas too...
Author of photograph Bohumil Bušek
Reference: Borovička, J. – Bušek, B. – Mikšík, M. – Dvořák, D. – Jeppesen, T.S. – Dima, B. – Albert, L. – Frøslev, T.G.: Cortinarius prodigiosus – a new species of the subgenus Phlegmacium from Central Europe. Mycological Progress, vol. 14 (2015): article no. 29.
Contact: Jan Borovička, +420 233 087 231, borovickagli [dot] cas [dot] cz