New fungus named after Hillary Rodham Clinton, Atractidochium hillariae

Most class 3 fungal endophytes (sensu Rodriguez et al. 2009) belong to the Ascomycota; members of Basidiomycota are much more infrequently isolated. Endophytic Basidiomycota may be more common in foliage than currently indicated, but biases in identification methods (e.g., primer bias, culturing vs. environmental sequencing) may mask their true diversity and abundance as endophytes. Atractidochium hillariae is a uniquely common Basidiomycota endophyte in Pinus taeda needles that remained unnamed and phylogenetically and morphologically uncharacterized for decades despite its abundance. By naming this species after Hillary Clinton, we honor her career fighting against gender inequality and bias. Etymology: “hillariae,” honoring Hillary Rodham Clinton—a devoted public servant and first female candidate nominated by a major U.S. political party for president of the United States.