Phylogenetic and morphological comparison of Pluteus variabilicolor and P. castri (Basidiomycota, Agaricales)

Based on several collections from Italy, a detailed description (including also macrophotographs, microphotographs, and drawings) of the morphological characters of the poorly known Pluteus variabilicolor, originally described from Hungary, is provided. The analysis of the ITS sequences placed this species within the P. leoninus clade of sect. Hispidoderma, in spite of the presence of clavate elements in the pileipellis. According to the molecular comparison of the type collections, Pluteus castri, a species recently described on the basis of material collected in Japan and Central Russia, is reduced to a synonym of P. variabilicolor