New records of mushrooms for the mycobiota of Azerbaijan

The article reports data on 24 new records of mushrooms in Azerbaijan. Fungal specimens were collected during 2014– 2018 in Shaki District of Azerbaijan. These are Auriscalpium vulgare, Boletus aereus, B. edulis var. arenarius, B. variipes, Caloboletus radicans, Calocybe gambosa, Cantharellus subalbidus, Clavariadelphus pistillaris, Cortinarius triumphans, Hemileccinum depilatum, Hortiboletus rubellus, Hydnellum concrescens, Inonotus obliquus, Marasmius capillaris, Phaeomarasmius erinaceus, Phallus ravenelii, Ramaria obtusissima, Rheubabariboletus armeniacus, Rubroboletus legaliae, R. lupinus, R. satanas, Russula turci, Suillus collinitus, and Tremella mesenterica. For each specimen, its locality, biotope and collection data are indicated and photographs are provided.


Introduction
Dedicated studies of macromycetes of Azerbaijan were launched in the early 1960s. Currently about 2300 specimens of more than 800 taxa of mushrooms collected within the country are deposited at the Mycological Herbarium of the Institute of Botany (BAK), ANAS (Sadiqov, 1972(Sadiqov, , 2007Sadiqov, Aghayeva, 2016). That is not a large number of species taking into account rich diversity of microfungi in Azerbaijan. Based on what has been discovered, we can suggest that many species have not been revealed and explored yet. The mushroom diversity in Shaki District studied during several recent years revealed a number of species that are new for the study area, as well as for the country.
Shaki District is located along the Southern Caucasus mountain range. Most of its area is occupied by both coniferous and broadleaf forest ecosystems where oak, beech, birch, hornbeam are dominant tree species. The aim of the article is to present data on new species of mushrooms found in Shaki District, which have not been previously registered in Azerbaijan.

Results and discussion
In total, 24 species of the Agaricomycetes belonging to 9 orders and 15 families represent new records for Azerbaijan ( Fig. 1). Below we list the species of fungi and discuss peculiarities of some taxa and records.
In the Transcaucasis this species was previously reported from Georgia and Armenia (Key…, 1985).
In the Transcaucasian region the species has been reported from Georgia and Armenia (Key…, 1985).
Based on our observation, B. edulis var. arenarius differs from B. edulis var. edulis by its smaller, reddishyellow cap, as well as a long and curved stipe.
In the Transcaucasian region it has been reported from Georgia (Key…, 1985).
Xylotrophs can be divided into three subgroups: fungi occurring on cones, leaves, and stems. Phaeomarasmius erinaceus (Inocybaceae) was recorded on dead wood of hornbeam and beech trees. Marasmius capillaris was found on dead fallen leaves of oak and beech, Auriscalpium vulgare -on cones of dead pine trees and Tremella mesenterica -on stem of broadleaf tree species. Parasitic Inonotus obliquus (Hymenochaetaceae), a widely distributed species in the study area, was identified on a birch tree.
Fungal diversity studies rely on the data about collected samples, images and identified fungal taxa in certain area. This information provides a source for scientific research and management of natural resources for the mutual benefit of humans and nature. The reported research represents a new contribution to the existing data on mushroom diversity of Azerbaijan.