Abstract
An account of British species and taxa of Otidea is presented based on morphology and molecular data obtained from the fungarium collections, at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K) and elsewhere. Based on a phylogenetic analysis using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences of the fungal nuclear rDNA, sixteen named and three unnamed taxa are recognised. Five species are being reported for the first time from Britain, which are Otidea caeruleopruinosa, O. flavidobrunneola, O. formicarum, O. nannfeldtii, and O. tuomikoskii. The presence in Britain is confirmed of O. minor, and also of O. adorniae and O. parvispora, recent segregates from O. alutacea which had been considered to be a species ‘complex’. Reliability of using only ITS phylograms for species identification in this study has been tested by comparing them with the multiple gene analyses presented in other studies. All British Otidea species are of European origin. Geographical distribution and frequency of Otidea collections within Britain are briefly discussed
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