Reconstructing the Clavariaceae using nuclear large subunit rDNA sequences and a new genus segregated from Clavaria

Fungi that produce clavarioid fruit bodies have evolved independently many times in the Basidiomycota. The evolutionary significance of this morphology is difficult to interpret because the phylogenetic positions of many clavarioid fungi are still unknown. In this study we examined the phylogenetic diversity of the Clavariaceae sensu lato among Homobasidiomycetidae by adding partial nuclear large subunit ribosomal DNA sequences from clavarioid and corticioid fungi to a large euagaric dataset and analyzing them both together and separately. Our results indicate that the clavarioid morphology has evolved at least five times in the euagarics while the inclusion of type species enabled us to evaluate the taxonomic consequences of this polyphyletic distribution. Although the sampling available at present is incomplete, a qualitative assessment of our phylogenetic hypotheses indicates that the clavarioid habit might not be as evolutionary labile as previously reported. We propose the new genus Alloclavaria to accommodate Clavaria purpurea, which is not related to Clavaria but is derived within the hymenochaetoid clade. The Physalacriaceae and Clavariaceae are redefined to reflect monophyletic groups, and the limits of Clavaria, Clavulinopsis and Ramariopsis should be reconsidered when additional data are available.