Morphological and Molecular Characterization of Three Agaricus Species from Jammu and Kashmir, India

The genus Agaricus is a saprophytic and cosmopolitan genus occurring in diverse type of habitats. In the present study, we report three interesting species of genus Agaricus viz., A. sinoplacomyces, A. sylvaticus and A. subrufescens, from different regions of Jammu and Kashmir. Identification was carried out through combined morpho-anatomical and nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (nrITS) sequence analysis. Agaricus sinoplacomyces is recorded for the first time from India while A. sylvaticus and A. subrufescens are reported for the first time from Jammu and Kashmir. Detailed morphological descriptions, colour photographs, line drawings, and molecular phylogeny are provided.