Four New Records of Agaricomycetes From Pakistan on the Basis of Morphological and Molecular Analyses

Agaricomycetes represent one of the most diverse and ecologically important groups within the Basidiomycota, playing vital roles in nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition and symbiotic interactions in forest ecosystems. Due to their varied geography and climatic conditions, Pakistan possesses a rich yet insufficiently explored macrofungal diversity, particularly in its moist temperate coniferous forests. In the present study, four agaricomycetous species, Inocybe soliana , Meripilus lineatus , Hygrophorus griseodiscus , and Chromosera cyanophylla , are reported for the first time from Pakistan based on detailed morphoanatomical observations and molecular phylogenetic analysis using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. In addition, C. cyanophylla also represents the first record of the genus Chromosera from Pakistan.