Phylogenetic studies of brown- and black-spored mushrooms

Galerina is a large genus of small, brown-spored mushrooms that we recently have shown to be an unnatural group (polyphyletic). Identification of species is extremely difficult, even for the trained eye, and former classifications and species concepts are entirely morphology-based. We untangle the Galerina lineages and the family relationships of these and related agarics using DNA sequence data. The main goal is to develop a new classification of this group of fungi and to revise species complexes, based on phylogenetic analyses of multiple genes.

This project is a pilot project connected to NCB.