A new hypogeous Peziza species that forms ectomycorrhizas with Quercus in California

Abstract

A new truffle species, Peziza erini sp. nov. (Pezizaceae, Pezizales), is described from xeric oak woodlands in northern California, USA. This fully enclosed and hypogeous Peziza is a member of the latex-producing Peziza succosa clade (the /galactinia ectomycorrhizal lineage). This new species is morphologically most similar to the sympatric species, Peziza infossa, but both morphological and molecular data conclusively show that Peziza erini is unique. Ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence matches between fruiting bodies of Peziza erini and healthy ectomycorrhizal roots of Quercus douglasii definitively show that this new species is an ectomycorrhizal symbiont of oaks in California’s Mediterranean woodlands.