The new truffle genus and a new species of from semiarid grasslands of Hungary.

Truffles with distinct morphological and anatomical features were collected during a study of hypogeous fungi of semiarid sandy grasslands of the Great Hungarian Plain in Hungary, representing the westernmost localities of the Eurasian steppe belt. None of the ascomata were collected near ectomycorrhizal plant species, and none were identified as ectomycorrhizal during previous surveys in the collection area. We studied morphoanatomical characteristics of these truffles with light and scanning electron microscopy and investigated their phylogenetic positions based on analyses of different nuclear loci. The truffles were found to represent two novel lineages that grouped with the clade of the Pezizaceae. One formed a distinct lineage, for which we propose a new genus with a new species characterized by diverse spore ornamentation varying even within one ascus. The truffles in the other lineage clustered with the rarely collected American truffle and share with it similar spore ornamentation and habitat features. However, our material differs from by geographic origin, the quick and strong coloration of the ascomata to dark gray at cut surface or bruised area, varying spore number in asci, and smaller spore size; thus, we describe it as a new species, .