Unveiling the Diversity of Hydnum in the Republic of Korea with One New Species, Hydnum paucispinum.

Hydnum is a genus of ectomycorrhizal fungi belonging to the Hydnaceae family. It is widely distributed across different regions of the world, including North America, Europe, and Asia; however, some of them showed disjunct distributions. In recent years, with the integration of molecular techniques, the taxonomy and classification of Hydnum have undergone several revisions and advancements. However, these changes have not yet been applied in the Republic of Korea. In this study, we conducted an integrated analysis combining the morphological and molecular analyses of 30 specimens collected over a period of approximately 10 years in the Republic of Korea. For molecular analysis, the sequence data of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, the large subunit of nuclear ribosomal RNA gene (nrLSU), and a portion of translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1) were employed as molecular markers. Through this study, we identified eight species that had previously not been reported to occur in the Republic of Korea, including one new species, Hydnum paucispinum. A taxonomic key and detailed descriptions of the eight Hydnum species are provided in this study.