mycorrhizal status of Pseudotulostoma volvata (Elaphomycetaceae, Eurotiales, Ascomycota)

Pseudotulostoma volvata (O. K. Mill. and T. W. Henkel) is a morphologically unusual member of the otherwise hypogeous Elaphomycetaceae due to its epigeous habit and exposed gleba borne on an elevated stalk at maturity. Field observations in Guyana indicated that P. volvata was restricted to rain forests dominated by ectomycorrhizal (EM) Dicymbe corymbosa (Caesalpiniaceae), suggesting an EM nutritional mode for the fungus. In this paper, we confirm the EM status of P. volvata with a combination of morphological, molecular, and mycosociological data. The EM status for P. volvata corroborates its placement in the ectotrophic Elaphomycetaceae.