Hygrophoraceae of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park ‐ how many have misapplied European names?

Toyota Auditorium, Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy

The family Hygrophoraceae includes the brightly colored mushrooms commonly known as the wax-caps. From 2004-2008, we documented 40 species and varieties in the Hygrophoraceae. Of these, half bear European names, but 16 of them differ from the European species based on morphology and/or DNA sequences. Thus, these Smokies taxa have misapplied European names and most will need new names. Three European species also bear misapplied American names. Among the correctly named European species found in the Smokies, Neohygrocybe ingrata has not previously been reported in North America, but previous collections of this species have probably been misidentified as Hygrocybe nitrata. Hygrocybe reidii collected in the Smokies represents the first record for the USA, but this species has previously been reported from North America in Québec, Canada. Previous American collections of H. reidii have been misidentified as H. cantharellus, H. coccinea or H. punicea. DNA sequences of collections from the Great Smoky Mountain National Park have played a critical role in delineating species as well as in revision of the family Hygrophoraceae.