Mycena luxaustralis, a new bioluminescent species in section Sacchariferae from southern Chile

Bioluminescent fungi emit light through chemical luminescence of fungal tissues. More than 100 species of bioluminescent fungi have been described in five distinct groups of Agaricales: Omphalotus, Armillaria, the Lucentipes lineage within Marasmiineae, the Eoscyphella lineage, and the mycenoid lineage. The mycenoid lineage includes the largest number of described bioluminescent taxa. Recent efforts to document and describe fungal biodiversity in Chile documented several collections of a bioluminescent Mycena species found exclusively on the dead rachises of Parablechnum chilense, a fern species endemic to temperate forests of Chile and Argentina. This species is related to Mycena tenerrima (= M. adscendens) from the Northern Hemisphere, but is both morphologically and phylogenetically distinct. Here, we describe this species as Mycena luxaustralis sp. nov., including morphological descriptions and analysis of ITS and 28S sequences.