Taxonomy and phylogeny reveal two novel species of genus Lepiota (Agaricaceae, Agaricales) from Punjab, Pakistan

Two new species under the names of Lepiota brunneopileata and L. pakistanensis are described herein based on four collections during mushroom surveys in 2021-2022 from scrubland in district Gujrat, Pakistan. Morpho-anatomy and phylogenetic placement, based on Internal Transcribed Spacer (nrITS) and Larger Subunit (nrLSU), clustered them into Lepiota sect. Lepiota and Stenosporae. Lepiota brunneopileata is characterized by brown to dark brown disk, squamules on light brown pileus surface as well as on stipe, spurred, truncate basidiospores (3.9-7.0 x 2.7-4.1 mu m), narrowly clavate to cylindrical and utriform cheilocystidia, with light brown to brown trichodermal pileus covering elements. Lepiota pakistanensis possesses small basidiomata with ochraceous disk, ochraceous to light brown cottony squamules on creamy white pileus surface, fusiform to slightly amygdaliform basidiospores (10.3-11.7 x 4.7-5.8 mu m), clavate to broadly clavate cheilocystidia, trichodermal pileus covering with long cylindrical to fusiform terminal elements and spherocystous to clavate basal elements.