Transatlantic disjunction in fleshy fungi. II. The Sparassis spathulata – S. brevipes complex

Taxo-nomenclaturally, transatlantic disjunctions among fleshy fungi take two forms: 1) the same name is used on both continents, but the phylotaxonomic congruity of the organisms is questionable; and 2) different names are used, but whether they refer to the same or different organisms is questionable. This paper takes up an example of the latter case, where the European representative is known as Sparassis brevipes (or S. nemecii) and the American as S. spathulata (or S. herbstii). Phylogenetic placement shows that European and North American entities differ and that different names are appropriate. The study further shows that S. nemecii is a morphological variant of S. brevipes and that S. herbstii likewise appears to be a morphological variant of S. spathulata. In order to bring taxonomic stability to this taxonomic complex, S. brevipes is typified, epitypes are designated for S. nemecii and S. spathulata and all taxa are redescribed. Two new combinations are proposed: S. brevipes f. nemecii and S. spathulata f. herbstii.