<i>Lepiota</i><i>keralensis</i>, a new species with epithelial pileal covering

A new species, Lepiota keralensis , was collected from Kerala, India and was studied using morphological and molecular (ITS, LSU and rpb2 gene) characters. The species is characterized by medium‐sized basidiomata with innate squarrose brown coloured squamules on a white background, hyaline, dextrinoid, non‐metachromatic, smooth‐walled basidiospores, absence of cheilocystidia and pleurocystidia, and globose to ellipsoid cells on pileal covering. Morphological as well as phylogenetic analyses confirm the placement of the new species in Lepiota sect. Echinatae . The discovery of the new species adds to the existing data on tropical lepiotas.