<i>Pholiotina intermedia</i> (<i>Agaricales</i>, <i>Basidiomycota</i>), a rare fungal species new to Montenegro

Background and purpose: Fungi are largely understudied in Montenegro. So far, there have been no reliably identified records of Pholiotina species. The described and illustrated record of Pholiotina intermedia contributes to the knowledge of the Montenegrin funga (mycobiota) and the morphological, ecological, and molecular characteristics of this species. Material and methods: The basidiomata were photographed, collected, described, dried, and deposited in two institutional collections. Microscopic characters were observed with a light microscope on dried material mounted in alkaline water solution. Genomic DNA was extracted from dried specimen and full-length ITS gene region was amplified and Sanger sequenced. The obtained ITS rDNA sequence was deposited in the GenBank database (PQ320131). Results: A rare fungal species Pholiotina intermedia is reported for the first time from Montenegro. It was found in old-growth beech forest in the Biogradska Gora National Park. This is the first reliably identified record of Pholiotina species in Montenegro. Macro- and micromorphological description and illustrations, as well as ecological, distributional, and molecular data (ITS sequence) are given. The morphological and molecular characteristics of the species are compared with already known data. Conclusions: Pholiotina intermedia is reliably known only from 10 European countries so far and it is rare in each of these countries. Montenegrin collection has morphological characters that correspond well with the descriptions in the literature. Great efforts are needed to seriously reduce the backlog in the study of Montenegrin funga.