Hericium americanum var. roseum-a new North American taxon

A rarely collected rose-pink-colored Hericium americanum has now been documented with in situ images obtained by 11 different field naturalists in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada since 2018. These mushroom enthusiasts responded to a request for images and specimens of a rarely documented rose-pink-colored tooth fungus discussed in the comments section of a description of Hericium americanum and H. coralloides in Mushrooms of the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada. Five of those finds were collected, preserved by drying, and sent to the authors for analysis. This strikingly colored tooth fungus is confirmed as a variant of H. americanum using morphological and molecular data (nuc rDNA ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 and partial nuc 28S rDNA D1-D6 regions) and proposed here as a new variety.