About the genus Leccinum and other interesting boletes

Culinary Historians of Chicago

About the genus Leccinum and other interesting boletes Presented by Beatriz Ortiz-Santana, PhD Beatriz Ortiz-Santana is a Research Scientist and fungarium curator at the Center for Forest Mycology Research (- USDA, Forest Service, Northern Research Station) in Madison, Wisconsin. Ortiz-Santana received her PhD in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras. Her research focus is on the diversity and distribution of forest fungi in North America and the Caribbean Basin, in particular the biosystematics of basidiomycete fungi in the Boletales and the families Agaricaceae and Fomitopsidaceae. These fungi play significant roles in nutrient cycling and retention, basic food webs, forest diseases and mutualisms – functions that are critically important to forest health and productivity. Ortiz-Santana will talk about her experience collecting, describing and identifying boletes and present preliminary results on species delimitation in Leccinum. Collaborating with Michael Kuo, they are studying the diversity of Leccinum by incorporating molecular data to confirm species identity. Currently, Ortiz-Santana is obtaining ribosomal DNA sequences from type species of Leccinum to accurately define species morphologically and incorporate in future phylogenetic studies. Recorded via Zoom on August 2, 2021 IllinoisMyco.org