Plant Archives Vol. 19 No. 2, 2019 pp. 4067-4072 e-ISSN:2581-6063 (online), ISSN:0972-5210 *Author for correspondence : E-mail : dr.anas77@tu.edu.iq FIVE NEW TAXA RECORDS FOR THE MACROMYCOTA OF IRAQ FROM SULIAMANIYAAND TIKRIT PROVINCES (IRAQ) Talib O. Al- Khesraji, and Anas Y. Al-Hayawi* Biology Department, college of education for pure sciences, Tikrit University, Tikrit, Iraq. Abstract Five macrofungal taxa, Cheilymenia fimicola, Helvella leucomelaena (Ascomycota), Rhizopogon luteolus, Phaeolus schweinitzii and Schizophyllum amplum (Basidiomycota) collected from Suliamaniya and Tikrit provinces, are reported as new records for the macromycota of Iraq. Macro and microscopic descriptions, habitat, distribution and remarks on the species are provided. Key words : Macromycota, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Sulaimaniya, Tikrit, Iraq. Introduction Suliamaniya is a province in the eastern north of Iraq (elevation 882m, 35° 332 263 N, 45° 262 83 E), on the Iraqi- Iranian borders, 385 Km north Baghdad. It is surrounded by Azmar, Goyija and Qaiwan Ranges in the northeast, Tasluja Hills in the west and Baranan Mountain in the south. Suliamaniya province is characterized by its semi- arid climate with hot dry summer and cool rainy winter. Rainfall is limited to the winter months. This province is rich in vegetation cover, including tree species (like Acer sp., Juniper sp., Juglans sp., Pine spp., Pistacia sp., Populus sp. and Quercus spp.) with different species of shrubs and herbs. Tikrit province (elevation 137m, 34 0 362 363 N43 0 402 483 ) is located on the Tigris River, 140Km northwest of Baghdad, and the capital of Iraq. It is one of the most rural parts of Salahadin Governorate (north- central Iraq) with 22.1 0 C average annual temperature and 182mm average rainfall. Tikrit is rich in vegetation, comprising tree species (like Salix sp., Populus spp., Pinus spp. and several fruit tree species) and different shrubs and herbs. Macrofungi are those fungi that produce epigeous or hypogeous fruiting bodies large enough to be seen by the naked eye (Mueller et al., 2007; Devi & Shrivastava, 2016). Macrofungi belong to Basidiomycota, Ascomycota or Zycomycota (Mueller et al., 2007) and are represented by 41,000 species in the world (Priyamvada et al., 2017). Ecologically these fungi are either saprotrophic, mutualistic or parasitic (Mueller et al., 2007). Economically, macrofungi are important due to their role in food, medicine, industry and biocontrol (De Silva et al., 2013; Zotti et al., 2013; Mandal, 2019). Despite their ecological and economic significance, macrofungal diversity in Iraq (including Sulaimaniya and Tikrit provinces) are poorly explored though this country is rich in vegetation which expected to harbor a wide variety of macrofungal species (Al-Khesraji et al., 2017; 2018). This study reports five macrofungal species as new records for the macromycota of Iraq from Suliamaniya and Tikrit provinces. Materials and Methods Macrofungi specimens were collected from different localities in Suliamaniya and Tikrit provinces during March- May 2018. Habit and habitat were recorded. Macrofungal specimens were photographed in their natural habitats and in the laboratory. Macroscopic and microscopic features were reported. Distilled water, 5%KOH and Melzer s reagent were used for light microscopy. Macrofungal specimens were identified according to relevant literature, keys and field guides (Baseia and Milanez, 2002; Karadelev et al., 2009; Akata, 2010; Hagle and Filip, 2010; Trappe, 2011; Cooper, 2012; Akata et al., 2012; Asef, 2013; Pala et al., 2013; Beug et al., 2014; Desjardin et al., 2015; Kuo, 2016; O’Reilly, 2016; Li et al., 2016; Skrede et al., 2017). All identified specimens were preserved in the Department of Biology, College of Education for Pure Sciences, Tikrit University,