Lactarius bhaderwahensis: a new species of Lactarius subg. Plinthogalus (Russulaceae) from coniferous forests of Northwestern Himalayas, India

Lactarius bhaderwahensis sp. nov. is here described as a new species from coniferous forests of Jammu. Morphological and molecular (nrITS) sequence data placed the new species within Lactarius subg. Plinthogalus. It is characterized by its basidiocarps with brown to cinnamon-brown to greyish brown pileus, abundant white latex that turns light orange to greyish orange, globose to subglobose basidiospores with winged ornamentations having ridges forming a broken reticulum, trichopalisade pileipellis and occurrence under Abies pindrow. A detailed macro- and micro-morphological description along with anatomical photographs, line drawings, phylogenetic analysis and comparisons with similar species are provided.