Chroogomphus fungi are economically very important because of their association with pine trees, some medicinal properties (potential antibiotic) and because they are edible. According to an online wild mushroom cookbook they are excellent when dried, have a firm chewy texture but almost no flavor. This means you can put them in any dish without worrying about overpowering them - there's nothing to overpower! They make an excellent textural addition, though, a little crunchy, a little rubbery, very pleasant. Use them in tomato sauce as a meat substitute, or in a spicy Thai curry. You can't go wrong, because you can't taste them.
Our new species was found in the Kumrat valley in the North of Pakistan, hence the species name.
For the experts: With only three published reports, the genus Chroogomphus (Boletales, Gomphidiaceae) is poorly studied in Pakistan. During recent sampling events in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa province, Pakistan, several collections of Chroogomphus were made, representing undescribed taxa. Based on morphological and molecular data, two new species are described: Chroogomphus pakistanicus and C. pruinosus. We present a description and illustrations for both taxa. A molecular phylogenetic reconstruction, based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS1–5.8S–ITS2) barcode region, shows that C. pakistanicus and C. pruinosus are placed in two different subgenera of Chroogomphus (subg. Chroogomphus and subg. Siccigomphus, respectively).
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