Diversity of Neotropical stalked-puffball: Two new species of Tulostoma with reticulated spores

by Tiara Sousa Cabral, Bianca Denise Barbosa da Silva, Ruby Vargas-Isla, Jadson José Souza de Oliveira, Jorge Alves da Silva Ferreira, Laís Castro, María Paz Martín, Noemia Kazue Ishikawa

Species of the genus Tulostoma are easily recognizable by the presence of a spore sac, with a mouth from which spores are released, attached to a stipe. Tulostoma is a species-diverse genus with a worldwide distribution, and some attempts were made to delimitate species and to evaluate reliable taxonomic-informative characteristics for species identification. However, there is a notable information gap regarding Neotropical species, especially for geographic distribution and DNA data, which hampers further understanding of the infrageneric diversity, evolution, and ecology of this genus. Based on morphological analysis, molecular phylogenetics and geographic distribution, we propose here two new species of Tulostoma with reticulated spores, from the two threatened Brazilian geographical areas, Atlantic Forest and “campos rupestres” (rupestrian grassland), as well as we provide notes on the taxonomic rank of Tulostoma exasperatum var. ridleyi.