Korean Journal of Mycology (Kor. J. Mycol.)
Indexed in SCOPUS, KCI, DOAJ
OPEN ACCESS, PEER REVIEWED
pISSN 0253-651X
eISSN 2383-5249
RESEARCH ARTICLE

New Records of Five Cortinarius Species from South Korea: Morphological and Phylogenetic Evidence

1Forest Biodiversity Conservation Research Division, Korea National Arboretum, Pocheon 11186, Korea
2Forest Biodiversity Research Division, Korea National Arboretum, Pocheon 11186, Korea

*Correspondence to changsun84@korea.kr

Korean Journal of Mycology (Kor J Mycol) 2026 June, Volume 54, Issue 2, pages 191-205.
https://doi.org/10.4489/kjm.2026.54.2.9
Received on April 27, 2026, Revised on June 23, 2026, Accepted on June 23, 2026, Published on June 30, 2026.
Copyright © The Korean Society of Mycology.
This is an Open Access article which is freely available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

ABSTRACT

We investigated Cortinarius specimens collected from major Pung-hyeol-ji sites and Mt. Odaesan in Gangwon-do, Korea, in 2024, and identified them using internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-based phylogenetic analyses and morphological observations. Phylogenetic analyses based on ITS sequences produced congruent tree topologies using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods. The specimens were assigned to Cortinarius alpinus, C. falsosus, C. fulvopaludosus, C. lepidopus, and C. scotoides, all of which have recently emerged in South Korea. Morphological findings generally agreed with the characteristics of each species, and minor differences were interpreted as intraspecific variation. Four of the five Cortinarius species were collected from Pung-hyeol-ji habitats, suggesting a preference for the cool, humid microclimate of wind-hole ecosystems. This study expands the established distribution of Cortinarius species in South Korea and highlights the ecological significance of Pung-hyeol-ji habitats as potential microrefugia for ectomycorrhizal fungi.
Keywords

Cortinarius alpinus, Cortinarius falsosus, Cortinarius fulvopaludosus, Cortinarius lepidopus, Cortinarius scotoides, Pung-hyeol-ji

under publication

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