ORIGINAL ARTICLE Bovista himalaica sp. nov. (gasteroid fungi; Basidiomycetes) from Pakistan N. Yousaf & H. Kreisel & A. N. Khalid Received: 21 June 2012 / Revised: 18 September 2012 / Accepted: 24 September 2012 # German Mycological Society and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012 Abstract The gasteroid fungus Bovista himalaica sp. nov. (Agaricaceae; Basidiomycota) is described and illustrated from Himalayan moist temperate forests of Pakistan. Analysis of the ITS region of the nuclear ribosomal RNA gene suggests B. himalaica is phylogenetically distinct and confirms its position within Bovista section Globaria. Descriptions with SEM images of spores, comparison with closely related taxa, and a key to the Bovista species with ovoid-oblong basidiospores are provided. Keywords Agaricaceae . Bovista . Gasteroid fungi . Himalaya . Phylogeny . Taxonomy Introduction The genus Bovista Pers. is characterized by having epigeous gasteroid basidiomata with subglobose to oval basidiospores (Miller and Miller 1988; Ellis and Ellis 1990). Members of the genus are widely distributed, being found primarily in tem- perate regions. The genus contains approximately 55 species (Kirk et al. 2008), which have been reported previously from Eastern Africa (Demoulin and Dring 1975), Finland (Haeggstrom 1997), Iceland (Hallgrimsson 1988), India (Sharma et al. 2007), Japan (Yoshie et al. 2004; Miwa and Kasuya 2009), Mexico (Calonge et al. 2004), North America (Coker and Couch 1928; Bates et al. 2009), northern Europe (Larsson et al. 2009), Pakistan (Ahmad 1952; Ahmad et al. 1997), Panama (Gube and Piepenbring 2009), South Africa (Bottomley 1948; Devilliers et al. 1989), and South America (Suarez and Wright 1994; Baseia 2005; Trierveiler-Pereira et al. 2010). Four species, B. bovistoides (Cooke & Massee) S. Ahmad, B. concinna S. Ahmad, B. lycoperdoides (Cooke) S. Ahmad, and B. plumbea Pers., have been reported previously from Pakistan (Ahmad 1952; Ahmad et al. 1997). Based on morphological and molecular evidence, Bovista himalaica is described here as a new species. Materials and methods Study and description of specimens Morphological characters (e.g., basidiospores, capillitium, endoperidium, and exoperidium) were observed macro- scopically using a stereomicroscope (Meiji Techno EMZ- 5TR) and studied under light microscopy (Nikon YS 100) at high magnification (×1,600). Glebal material examined was mounted in lacto-phenol and 5 % KOH medium, and illus- trations of microscopic characters were prepared with the help of a camera lucida (Ernst Leitz, Wetzlar, Germany) fitted to a light microscope. Color codes have been given following the Munsell color system (Munsell 1905). The holotype (collection no. NYGL5), and isotypes (collection no.s NYG2, NYG3, NYG5) have been deposited in the collection of gasteroid fungi at the LAH Herbarium, Department of Botany, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan, and the isotype with voucher # HGW DB 9003 has been deposited in the private herbarium of H. Kreisel, Greifswald, Germany. N. Yousaf (*) : A. N. Khalid Department of Botany, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan e-mail: nousheenyousaf@gmail.com A. N. Khalid e-mail: drankhalid@gmail.com H. Kreisel Zur Schwedenschanze 4, 17498 Potthagen, Germany e-mail: hanns.kreisel@gmx.de Mycol Progress DOI 10.1007/s11557-012-0864-4