ABSTRACT
The genus Psiloboletinus was proposed by Rolf Singer in 1945 based on Phylloporus lariceti, a species that associates with Larix in the Altai Mountains of central and eastern Asia. However, this classification has been controversial due to the morphological similarity to known genera Boletinus and Fuscoboletinus. Because of the lack of fresh material to study, the phylogenetic position of Psiloboletinus has remained unknown since its publication. However, the recently described species Suillus foetidus reported from northeast China allows this issue to be reexamined and resolved. Through morphological observations and comparison, we find that S. foetidus is a heterotypic synonym of Ps. lariceti. Furthermore, Psiloboletinus should be retained as an independent genus sister to Suillus based on molecular phylogenetic evidence and morphological features.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors thank the Herbarium of Mycology of Jilin Agricultural University (HMJAU), Mycological Herbarium of the Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (LE), and M. G. Popov Herbarium (NSK) of Central Siberian Botanical Garden, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, for the loan of specimens. The authors also thank Dr. Yang-Yang Cui in Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for her assistance on morphological observations. The authors are grateful to the editor (P. B. Matheny) and anonymous reviewers for their constructive suggestions.