The First Report of Hypogeous Geastrum in Hungary in Mattirolomyces terfezioides-Producing Forests in the Carpathian Basin

Abstract

Hungary has some of the best-researched hypogeous fungal flora in Europe, with a large number of genera and species already having been discovered in this country. In this study, we performed morphological and molecular analysis of unidentified hypogeous fungi samples collected from Hungary. We confirmed that they belong to the hypogeous earthstar species Geastrum nadalii (Paz et al., 2024), marking the first report of this species in this country and in a continental climate. We also assume that the habitat preference of this mushroom species is similar to the habitat preference of Mattirolomyces terfezioides, with both occurring in planted non-native Robinia pseudoacacia forests, suggesting that these are secondary habitats for these species. We also conclude that this Mediterranean species has appeared only recently in the Hungarian mycota.