Phylogenetic and morphological studies reveal large diversity and three new species in Amanita sect. Vaginatae (Agaricales, Basidiomycota) from Europe

European members of the species-rich sect. Vaginatae of the genus Amanita are studied focusing on Central (Austria, Hungary, N Italy and Romania), Western (France) and North European (Norway) collections. The combination of a 4-locus (nrDNA ITS, nrDNA LSU, RPB1 and TEF1-α) molecular phylogenetic analysis and a morphological approach resulted in the discovery of three new species: Amanita deflexa and A. griseofulva from stirps Fulva and A. opaca from stirps Coryli. Furthermore, the albinotic white forms of A. griseofulva (f. albida) and A. opaca (f. cettoi) are formally named. As a result of the comprehensive taxonomic revision of Amanita sect. Vaginatae, 370 newly generated sequences are deposited to GenBank, and 17 species new to Hungary are reported. This study provides another step towards understanding the taxonomy and diversity of Amanita section Vaginatae in Europe.