The Gomphidiaceae revisited: a worldwide perspective

Recent studies in the Gomphidiaceae have clearly delimited two genera, Gomphidius and Chroogomphus, both of which are mycorrhizal associates only with the Pinaceae. Ecological studies show Chroogomphus as a mycorrhizal associate of Pinus (Pinoideae), while Gomphidius is associated with the other three gymnosperm subfamilies Piceoideae, Lariceideae, and Abietoideae. The genus Brauniellula, which is based upon the secotioid habit and the presence of orthotropic, statismosporic basidia, falls within Chroogomphus in a clade with ballistosporic species. Brauniellula is, therefore, placed in synonymy with Chroogomphus. Molecular and morphological studies of new material from Nepal, Russia, Korea, and the United States have delimited two new species in each genus. The morphologically identical Chroogomphus rutilus clades are separate, one European and one North American. The relationship of the two genera in the Gomphidiaceae, with their mycorrhizal associates, is related to similar host relationships within other genera in the Suilloid Clade.