Phylogeny of two species of Lactarius subsection Scrobiculati associated with Abies religiosa in Cofre de Perote National Park, Mexico

Species of the genus Lactarius subsection Scrobiculati are distributed in the northern hemisphere and are associated with temperate forests. In Mexico, four species and two varieties of this subsection have been reported; however, their identification is complex due to morphological variability and the lack of DNA sequences and phylogenetic analysis. This study describes and illustrates Lactarius alnicola and L. mexicanus in Abies religiosa forests through morphological and phylogenetic analysis. The ITS sequences were deposited in GenBank (MF040818 and MH820031). The morphology of both species matches the original descriptions, and, phylogenetically, the Mexican sporomes form well-defined clades. L. alnicola is closely related to L. scrobiculatus from Europe, while L. mexicanus is grouped with L. intermedius from Italy. The use of morphological and phylogenetic characters will be key for the accurate identification and understanding of the distribution of Lactarius species in Mexico.