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Type: Article
Published: 2023-06-15
Page range: 280-290
Abstract views: 400
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New insights on post-fire morels (Morchella spp.) in Italy

Italian Mycological Society (UMI), viale Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Italian Mycological Society (UMI), viale Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Department of Health, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, via Vetoio, Coppito 1, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
Department of Health, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, via Vetoio, Coppito 1, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, via Fanin 44, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Department of Health, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, via Vetoio, Coppito 1, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
Morchella tomentosa Morchella vulgaris new forma post-fire tomentose ascomata Fungi

Abstract

Morels (Morchella spp.) fruit abundantly in burnt sites, in particular the year following the fire event. In the post-fire context, ascomata with densely tomentose surfaces, herein called “hair-bearing morels”, have also been reported in the literature. In this work, two morphotypes of hair-bearing morels from burnt pine forests of northern and central Italy are described and their ITS rDNA regions sequenced. The first was identified as M. tomentosa, which represents the first evidence of this species outside North America. For the second hair-bearing morphotype, the new forma M. vulgaris f. atrovelutipes is proposed. Our results suggest that the “tomentose” trait in morels is not only species-specific to M. tomentosa but it can also occasionally occur in other morel species after a fire event. In addition, taxonomic history of hair-bearing morels is reviewed and discussed.

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