# Two New Species of Lactifluus (Basidiomycota, Russulales) Sections Piperati and Albati Inhabiting Tropical Quercus Forests of Eastern Mexico

## TL;DR

This paper describes two new species of Lactifluus mushrooms found in tropical oak forests in Mexico, using both physical and genetic evidence.

## Contribution

The paper introduces two new species of Lactifluus identified through integrative morphological and molecular analysis.

## Key findings

- A new species in section Piperati was identified with pale yellow basidiomes.
- A new species in section Albati was identified with whitish basidiomes.
- Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the distinctiveness of the two new species.

## Abstract

Mexican species of Lactifluus have often been identified using names of morphologically similar Old World taxa. However, integrative approaches combining morphological and molecular data have revealed a high level of previously unrecognized diversity in the region. Here, two new species from lowland tropical Quercus forest are described: one in section Piperati (subgenus Lactifluus), characterized by pale yellow basidiomes and another in section Albati (subgenus Lactariopsis), with whitish basidiomes. The two taxa are distinguished by a unique set of macro- and micromorphological features, and their recognition is strongly supported by phylogenetic evidence from a concatenated dataset including nc ITS rDNA, nc 28S rDNA and the 6–7 region of the second largest subunit of the RNA polymerase II (rpb2).