Amanita pallidoverruca, a new species of Amanita section Validae from the Hengduan Mountains, southwestern China

Amanita pallidoverruca, a new species of A. sect. Validae, is described from the Hengduan Mountains, southwestern China. This species is associated with Picea trees and is characterized by a greyish brown pileus decorated with dirty white to greyish warts, non-striate and non-appendiculate pileal margin, subapical annulus with a greyish yellow to olivaceous edge, and amyloid, ellipsoid basidiospores measuring 8-10 x 6-7 mu m. Phylogenetic analyses based on nrLSU, ITS, rpb2 and tef1-alpha indicated that it is closely related to A. excelsa. Illustrated morphological descriptions, and comparisons with closely related and similar species are provided.