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Issue: Vol. 717 No. 1: 9 Sept. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-09-09
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.717.1.4
Page range: 59-74
Abstract views: 476
PDF downloaded: 8

Tuber purpureum sp. nov. (Tuberaceae, Pezizomycetes) From China and Deeper Insights of Understudied Tuber Species within the Excavatum Group

College of Resources and Environment, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, Yunnan 650100, China
College of Resources and Environment, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, Yunnan 650100, China
Amway (China) Botanical R&D Center, Wuxi 214115, China
College of Resources and Environment, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, Yunnan 650100, China
College of Resources and Environment, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, Yunnan 650100, China
Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Montecillo, Microbiología, Edafología, Texcoco, Mexico
Amway (China) Botanical R&D Center, Wuxi 214115, China
Yunnan Key Laboratory for Fungal Diversity and Green Development & Yunnan International Joint Laboratory of Fungal Sustainable Utilization in South and Southeast Asia, Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, Yunnan Province, China
Diversity Ecology Excavated truffles Phylogeny Taxonomy Fungi

Abstract

The Excavatum Group of Tuber is relatively poorly studied worldwide. Through extensive exploration and research on truffles, we identified a new excavated truffle species, Tuber purpureum, based on morphological and molecular analyses (ITS-nrLSU concatenated dataset). The main characteristics of this species include yellow-brown ascomata that are covered with distinctly verrucose warts on the surface. The gleba is solid and purple when mature, with a marbled pattern of white veins. The asci are subglobose, ellipsoid, or irregular, sessile or with short stalks, and contain 1–6 spores. Here, we conducted thorough studies on species of the Excavatum group and supplemented key morphological characteristics of the known species T. neoexcavatum and T. magnameshanum of this group. Furthermore, we integrated global data to comprehensively analyze the morphological, molecular, ecological, and geographical distribution characteristics of the Excavatum group species. Our observations highlight the significantly underestimated diversity of the Excavatum group worldwide, greatly clarifying the resource potential and geographical distribution characteristics of this group, and further documenting the need for additional systematic focus on the group.

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How to Cite

Wan, S.-P., E, L.-F., Su, Y.-Y., Liu, R.-L., Liu, W., Pérez-Moreno, J., Dong, G.-Q. & Yu, F.-Q. (2025) Tuber purpureum sp. nov. (Tuberaceae, Pezizomycetes) From China and Deeper Insights of Understudied Tuber Species within the Excavatum Group. Phytotaxa 717 (1): 59–74. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.717.1.4