Phylogenetic Comparison between Italian and Worldwide Hericium Species (Agaricomycetes)

A broad literature concerns the genus Hericium, mainly regarding the medicinal properties of H. erinaceus. Congeneric species of H. erinaceus have been poorly investigated. We collected basidiomata of H. alpestre, H. coralloides and H. erinaceus in Italy and isolated the corresponding mycelia in pure culture. Analysis of the respective internal transcribed spacer regions confirmed the morphological identification of the strains. Internal...