Boletes in the Bronx and Beyond: A Study of Boletales (Agaricomycetes, Basidiomycota, Fungi) Specimen Records of New York City

Abstract

ABSTRACT Despite the importance of fungi as symbionts and decomposers, studies on urban fungi are largely focused on pathogenic and economically harmful species. Urban fungal biodiversity is understudied and there are no published studies focusing on the diversity of Boletales in New York City. Many Boletales are known to form mycorrhizal associations, which are important to plant and ecosystem health. In this study, MyCoPortal, a public database of fungarium collections, was queried to generate a species list of all Boletales collected from New York City over the past 123 years. Overall, 89 species in 12 families of Boletales were found across the five boroughs of the city, though a number of species have not been re-collected in over a century. The species list illustrates the previously overlooked diversity of Boletales in New York City and can be used to direct future efforts to study these fungi in urban ecosystems.