Candolleomyces swaticus Naseer, Haqnawaz & Khalid 2025, sp. nov.

Candolleomyces swaticus Naseer, Haqnawaz & Khalid sp. nov. Figs 9, 10 Etymology. The species name “ swaticus ” (Latin) refers to the type locality, Swat. Holotype. Pakistan • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province: Swat (35°04'37"N, 72°24'33"E, 1480 m a. s. l.), on loamy soil, 11 Aug. 2016, Arooj Naseer, A. N. Khalid, SK–23 (LAH 37132). GenBank: PV 265182 [ITS], PV 265191 [LSU]. Diagnosis. Candolleomyces swaticus is different from Candolleomyces candolleanus by its large (20–60 mm), light gray with yellow-orange center, umbonate pileus, dull reddish-brown lamellae with 3–7 tiers, scales on stipe surface, bright brown basidiospores, capitate, lageniform, flexuose, tibiform, moniliform cheilocystidia. Description. Pileus 20–60 mm diam., campanulate at young stage, convex to plane when old, broadly umbonate, margin straight, split and irregularly wavy, presence of veil elements, smooth dull surface; light gray (10 YR 8 / 1) with dull yellow orange (10 YR 7 / 3) center. Lamellae adnexed, narrow to broad, average, with 3–7 tiers of lamellulae, dull reddish brown (2.5 YR 5 / 4). Stipe 25–55 × 4–8 mm, central, flexuous, tomentose, equal in width, scaly, grayish white (N 8 / 0). Annulus absent. Basidiospores [150 / 3 / 3], (6 –) 6.5–7.5 (– 8) × (4 –) 4.2–4.8 (– 5) µm, Q = 1.3–1.8, Qav = 1.65, amygdaliform in side view, ovoid in frontal view, thick – walled, smooth, guttulate, central germ pore present, bright brown in water. Basidia 15–20 × 6.3–10.2 µm, clavate to broadly clavate, hyaline in water, thick – walled, smooth, with 3–4 sterigmata. Cheilocystidia (30 –) 31–49 (– 50) × (10 –) 11–19 (– 20) µm, utriform to slightly lecythiform, capitate, cylindrical to cylindrical with median constriction at upper side, narrowly lageniform to broadly lageniform, flexuose, broadly fusiform, tibiform, moniliform, hyaline to slightly yellowish in water, thick – walled. Pleurocystidia absent. Pileipellis an irregular epithelium, one layer, of thick – walled, 25–75 × 18–70 µm, globose to subglobose and ellipsoid to broadly ellipsoid, clavate to broadly clavate, cylindrical cells, hyaline to olive yellow in water. Stipitipellis a cutis, made of hyphae subregular, branched, 6–17 µm in diameter, thin-walled, septate, and hyaline to yellow in water. Caulocystidia not recorded. Clamp connections present in all tissues. Ecology and habitat. Terrestrial, gregarious, under a coniferous tree, on alluvium soil, during the rainy season. Additional material examined. Pakistan • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province: Swat (35°04'37"N, 72°24'33"E, 1480 m a. s. l.), on loamy soil, 15 Aug. 2019, Arooj Naseer, A. N. Khalid, SK–01 (LAH 37131). GenBank: PV 265183 [ITS], PV 265190 [LSU]. Notes. According to phylogenetic analyses, Candolleomyces swaticus is closely related to C. candolleanus and C. badhyzensis. Morpho-anatomically, the former is different from the latter by having a campanulate pileus when young, being light gray with a dull yellow-orange center, having absence of hairy material (vs. C. candolleanus, which is covered with hairy material), having the presence of a broad umbo, and having irregular, wavy cap margins. Candolleomyces candolleanus has a parabolic pileus at a young stage, a bright brown pileus, and straight to even cap margins (Wächter and Melzer 2020). The next closely related taxon is Candolleomyces badhyzensis, which differs from the new species by a broadly bell-shaped, yellowish-brown pileus and cylindrical to ellipsoid to phaseoliform, pale brown basidiospores (vs. amygdaliform to ovoid, grayish red) (Kalamees 1981).