Multiclavula vernalis (Cantharellales) new to Japan

Abstract

Multiclavula vernalis, a lichenized clavarioid fungus, was newly recorded in Japan with descriptions and illustrations of the fruiting bodies and the thalli based on specimens collected in Nagano Prefecture. This report also contains the sequence of nrDNA ITS region, the results of the molecular phylogenetic analyses, and the information on the multispore culture. Fruiting bodies of M. vernalis were scattered on the ground of Andosols in the subalpine zone in Japan, and the lichenized thallus was undifferentiated or globular and composed of spherical algal cells surrounded by fungal hyphae. The photobiont seemed to be a green alga and contained many vesicles, possibly lipids.