Four new species and a new record of nodulose-spored Inocybe (Inocybaceae, Agaricales) from Benin, West Africa

Abstract Inocybe is a globally distributed genus of ectomycorrhizal fungi that occurs in temperate and tropical regions. However, species diversity of the genus in Africa remains underexplored. In this study, four new nodulose-spored Inocybe species, I . arenosa , I . basialba , I . liliputiana , and I . luteofusca , from tropical regions of Benin in West Africa, are described and illustrated based on comprehensive morphological and molecular analyses. In addition, I . glaucodisca, originally described from Zambia (Southeast Africa), is reported for the first time from West Africa (Benin). All five Inocybe species occur in association with Berlinia grandiflora ( Fabaceae ). Multilocus molecular analyses of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region (nrITS), a partial of the nuclear ribosomal large subunit (nrLSU), and a segment of the RNA polymerase II second-largest subunit ( RPB2 ) gene, confirm the distinctiveness of these four novel species and indicate their phylogenetic placement within Inocybe .