First Record of Helvella capucina in Türkiye: Morphological and Molecular Characterization

In the current study, Helvella capucina collected from Hakkari province in Türkiye is described as a new record using morphological and molecular characters. Ascocarp, hymenium, stipe, ascospores, ascus and paraphyses were used as diagnostic morphological characters. Images of microscopic characters, microphotographs of the ascospores, and colour pictures of the ascus in their natural habitats are provided. The species, which is placed in section Elasticae, was characterised by its short-stipitate apothecium and pure white when fresh, drying yellowish stipe. Molecular analysis was also carried out to characterize the new record reliably by using DNA sequences of the heat shock protein 90 (HSP90), RNA polymerase 2 (RPB2) and translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1-α). Additionally, the analyses of the three regions were combined to create a concatenated tree. The multigene phylogenetic position and evolutionary relationships of H. capucina with other species of Helvella in Elasticae were inferred using Bayesian Inferences (BI) of the concatenated dataset. Both morphological and molecular data separated Helvella capucina from its close relatives. Detailed descriptions, colour images of fresh and dried ascomata, along with photographs of microscopic characters and the concatenated phylogenetic tree were provided.