Morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses revealed five new species (Basidiomycota) from Southwestern China

Abstract

Figures

Maximum parsimony strict consensus tree illustrating the phylogeny of Conferticium and Gloeohypochnicium and related genera in the order Russulales, based on ITS+nLSU sequences; branches are labeled with maximum likelihood bootstrap value ≥ 70%, parsimony bootstrap value ≥ 50%, and Bayesian posterior probabilities ≥ 0.95.

Maximum parsimony strict consensus tree illustrating the phylogeny of Conferticium and related genus in the family Stereaceae, based on ITS+nLSU sequences; branches are labeled with maximum likelihood bootstrap value ≥ 70%, parsimony bootstrap value ≥ 50%, and Bayesian posterior probabilities ≥ 0.95.

Maximum parsimony strict consensus tree illustrating the phylogeny of Dendrocorticiopsis and Punctularia and related genera in the order Corticiales, based on ITS+nLSU sequences; branches are labeled with maximum likelihood bootstrap value ≥ 70%, parsimony bootstrap value ≥ 50%, and Bayesian posterior probabilities ≥ 0.95.

Maximum parsimony strict consensus tree illustrating the phylogeny of Eichleriella and related genera in the family Auriculariaceae, based on ITS+nLSU sequences; branches are labeled with maximum likelihood bootstrap value ≥ 70%, parsimony bootstrap value ≥ 50%, and Bayesian posterior probabilities ≥ 0.95.

Maximum parsimony strict consensus tree illustrating the phylogeny of Eichleriella and related species in the genus Eichleriella, based on ITS+nLSU sequences; branches are labeled with maximum likelihood bootstrap value ≥ 70%, parsimony bootstrap value ≥ 50%, and Bayesian posterior probabilities ≥ 0.95.

Basidiomata of Conferticiumalbocremeum (holotype CLZhao 35693). Scale bars: 1 cm (A); 1 mm (B).

Microscopic structures of Conferticiumalbocremeum (holotype CLZhao 35693): basidiospores (A); basidia and basidioles (B); gloeocystidia (C); a section of the hymenium (D). Scale bars: 10 µm (A–D).

Sections of hymenium of Conferticiumalbocremeum (holotype CLZhao 35693): basidiospores (A); basidia (B); basidioles (C); gloeocystidia (D); a section of the generative hyphae (E). Scale bars: 10 µm (A–E); 10 × 100.

Basidiomata of Dendrocorticiopsisluteoalba (holotype CLZhao 30380). Scale bars: 1 cm (A); 1 mm (B).

Microscopic structures of Dendrocorticiopsisluteoalba (holotype CLZhao 30380): basidiospores (A); basidia and basidioles (B); dendrohyphidia (C); cystidia (D); gloeocystidia (E); a section of the hymenium (F). Scale bars: 10 µm (A–F).

Sections of hymenium of Dendrocorticiopsisluteoalba (holotype CLZhao 30380): basidiospores (A); basidia and basidioles (B); dendrohyphidia (C); gloeocystidia (D); cystidia (E); a section of generative hyphae (F). Scale bars: 10 µm (A–F); 10 × 100.

Basidiomata of Eichleriellabiluoxueshanensis (holotype CLZhao 34516). Scale bars: 1 cm (A); 1 mm (B).

Microscopic structures of Eichleriellabiluoxueshanensis (holotype CLZhao 34516): basidiospores (A); basidia and basidioles (B); cystidia (C); hyphidia (D); a section of the hymenium (E). Scale bars: 10 µm (A–E).

Sections of hymenium of Eichleriellabiluoxueshanensis (holotype CLZhao 34516): basidiospores (A); basidia (B); basidioles (C); cystidia (D); hyphidia (E); a section of the hymenium (F). Scale bars: 10 µm (A–F); 10 × 100.

Basidiomata of Gloeohypochniciumyunnanense (holotype CLZhao 30049). Scale bars: 1 cm (A); 1 mm (B).

Microscopic structures of Gloeohypochniciumyunnanense (holotype CLZhao 30049): basidiospores (A); basidia and basidioles (B); cystidia (C); a section of the hymenium (D). Scale bars: 10 µm (A–D).

Sections of hymenium of Gloeohypochniciumyunnanense (holotype CLZhao 30049): basidiospores (A); basidia (B); basidioles (C); gloeocystidia (D). Scale bars: 20 µm (A–D); 10 × 100.

Basidiomata of Punctularianigrodontea (holotype CLZhao 30592). Scale bars: 1 cm (A, B); 1 mm (C, D).

Microscopic structures of Punctularianigrodontea (holotype CLZhao 30592): basidiospores (A); basidia and basidioles (B); a section of the hymenium (C). Scale bars: 10 µm (A–C).

Sections of hymenium of Punctularianigrodontea (holotype CLZhao 30592): basidiospores (A); basidia and basidioles (B); a section of thin-walled generative hyphae (C); a section of thick-walled generative hyphae (D). Scale bars: 10 µm (A–D); 10 × 100.

Tables

Table 1.. Names, voucher numbers, references, and corresponding GenBank accession numbers of the taxa used in the phylogenetic analyses. [* indicates type materials; – indicates sequence unavailability].

Taxa	Voucher no.	Locality	GenBank accession no.		References
			ITS	nLSU
Acanthobasidiumbambusicola	He2357	China	KU559343	KU574833	Tian et al. 2018
Acanthobasidiumphragmitis	CBS 233.86	France	–	AY039305	Wu et al. 2001
Acanthophysiumbisporum	T614	USA	–	AY039327	Maekawa et al. 2023
Acanthophysiumlividocaeruleum	FP-100292	USA	–	AY039319	Maekawa et al. 2023
Adustochaetepunctata	CLZhao 29675	China	PP852052	PP849035	Dong et al. 2024b
Aleurobotrysbotryosus	He2712	China	KX306877	KY450788	Tian et al. 2018
Aleurodiscusbambusinus	He4261	China	KY706207	KY706219	Tian et al. 2018
Alloexidiopsisaustraliensis	LWZ 20180514-18	China	OM801934	OM801919	Liu et al. 2022
Alloexidiopsiscalcea	LWZ 20180904-14	China	OM801935	OM801920	Liu et al. 2022
Alloexidiopsisgrandinea	CLZhao 33798	China	PP852058	–	Dong et al. 2024b
Alloexidiopsisxantha	CLZhao 25093	China	PP852060	PP849040	Dong et al. 2024b
Alloexidiopsisyunnanensis	CLZhao 8106	China	MT215569	MT215565	Guan et al. 2020
Amphistereumleveilleanum	FP-106715	USA	KX262119	KX262168	Malysheva and Spirin 2017
Amphistereumschrenkii	HHB 8476	USA	KX262130	KX262178	Malysheva and Spirin 2017
Amylostereumchailletii	NH 8031	–	AF506406	AF506406	Larsson and Larsson 2003
Amylostereumlaevigatum	NH 12863	–	AF506407	AF506407	Larsson and Larsson 2003
Aporpiumcaryae	Miettinen 14774	Finland	JX044145	–	Miettinen et al. 2012
Aporpiumcaryae	WD 2207	Japan	AB871751	AB871730	Sotome et al. 2014
Artomycesniveus	CLZhao 19094	China	OR094479	OR461459	Dong et al. 2024a
Artomycesyunnanensis	CLZhao 7118	China	OR094476	OR461461	Dong et al. 2024a
Auriculariaauricula-judae	JT 04	UK	KT152099	KT152115	Tohtirjap et al. 2023
Auriculariacornea	Dai 13621	China	MZ618936	MZ669905	Tohtirjap et al. 2023
Auriculariamesenterica	FO 25132	Germany	AF291271	AF291292	Weiß and Oberwinkler 2001
Auriculariapolytricha	TUFC 12920	Japan	AB871752	AB871733	Sotome et al. 2014
Auriculariatibetica	Dai 13336	China	MZ618943	MZ669915	Tohtirjap et al. 2023
Australovuilleminiacoccinea	BCP5551	New Zealand	HM046875	HM046930	Ghobad-Nejhad et al. 2010
Basidiodeserticahydei	SQUCC 15289	Oman	MW077150	MW077159	Wei et al. 2022
Bondarzewiaoccidentalis	AFTOL-ID 452	Canada	DQ200923	DQ234539	Zhou et al. 2021
Bondarzewiapodocarpi	Dai 9261	China	KJ583207	KJ583221	Zhou et al. 2021
Conferticiumalbocremeum	CLZhao 35693*	China	PQ197729	PQ783842	Present study
Conferticiumalbocremeum	CLZhao 36343	China	PQ783832	PQ783843	Present study
Conferticiumalbocremeum	CLZhao 37176	China	PQ783833	PQ783844	Present study
Conferticiumalbocremeum	CLZhao 39238	China	PQ783834	–	Present study
Conferticiumfissuratum	CLZhao 34654	China	PQ201856	–	Shen et al. 2024
Conferticiumfissuratum	CLZhao 34662	China	PQ201857	–	Shen et al. 2024
Conferticiumheimii	CBS321.66	African	AF506381	AF506381	Tian et al. 2018
Conferticiumochraceum	CLZhao 21515	China	ON211619	–	Present study
Conferticiumochraceum	G07_P24A	Switzerland	KT943933	–	Stroheker et al. 2018
Conferticiumravum	CBS:125849	Estonia	MH863805	MH875269	Vu et al. 2019
Conferticiumravum	NH13291	USA	AF506382	AF506382	Larsson and Larsson 2003
Corticiumroseum	MG252	China	MW805872	MW805836	Ghobad-Nejhad et al. 2021
Corticiumthailandicum	MG242	Tailand	MW805868	MW805831	Ghobad-Nejhad et al. 2021
Cytidiasalicina	MG49	Finland	GU590881	HM046921	Wei et al. 2022
Dendrocorticiopsisluteoalba	CLZhao 30380*	China	PQ783828	PQ783838	Present study
Dendrocorticiopsisorientalis	He 4195	China	MW580926	MW580921	Wei et al. 2022
Dendrocorticiopsisorientalis	WEI 20-166	China	MW580922	MW580924	Wei et al. 2022
Dendrocorticiumpolygonioides	CBS:106.56	France	MH857525	MH869062	Vu et al. 2019
Dendrocorticiumroseocarneum	KUC20121109-32	Korea	KJ668559	KJ668413	Ghobad-Nejhad and Duhem 2014
Dendrominiadryina	MG159	France	JX892936	JX892937	Ghobad-Nejhad and Duhem 2014
Dendrominiaericae	MG162	France	JX892938	JX892939	Ghobad-Nejhad and Duhem 2014
Dentipelliculaaustroafricana	Dai 12580	Africa	KJ855274	KJ855275	Zhou et al. 2021
Dentipelliculataiwaniana	Dai 10867	China	JQ349115	JQ349101	Zhou et al. 2021
Dentipellopsisdacrydicola	Dai 12004	–	JQ349104	JQ349089	Zhou and Dai 2013
Dentipellopsisdacrydicola	Dai 12010	–	–	JQ349090	Zhou and Dai 2013
Disporotrichumdimorphosporum	CBS:419.70	Netherland	MH859776	MH871538	Vu et al. 2019
Disporotrichumdimorphosporum	CBS:433.85	USA	MH861895	MH873584	Vu et al. 2019
Eichleriellaalliciens	He4055b	Thailand	MH178244	–	Li et al. 2023
Eichleriellaalliciens	HHB 7194	USA	KX262120	KX262169	Malysheva and Spirin 2017
Eichleriellaalpina	He 20120916-1	China	MH178245	MH178268	Li et al. 2023
Eichleriellabactriana	TAAM 104431	Uzbekistan	KX262138	KX262186	Malysheva and Spirin 2017
Eichleriellabambusicola	Dai 6391	China	MH178246	–	Li et al. 2023
Eichleriellabiluoxueshanensis	CLZhao 34516*	China	PQ783827	PQ783837	Present study
Eichleriellabiluoxueshanensis	CLZhao 34793	China	PQ787846	–	Present study
Eichleriellacrocata	He2969	China	MH178248	MH178271	Li et al. 2023
Eichleriellacrocata	TAAM 101077	Russia	KX262100	KX262147	Malysheva and Spirin 2017
Eichlerielladelicata	CLZhao 25143	China	PQ757163	–	Present study
Eichlerielladelicata	He3469	China	MH178250	MH178273	Li et al. 2023
Eichlerielladesertorum	LR 49350	Namibia	KX262142	KX262190	Malysheva and Spirin 2017
Eichlerielladiscolor	He4584	China	MH178252	MH178275	Li et al. 2023
Eichlerielladiscolor	He4763	China	MH178253	MH178276	Li et al. 2023
Eichleriellaflavida	LR 49412	UK	KX262137	KX262185	Malysheva and Spirin 2017
Eichleriellaleucophaea	LE 303261	Russia	KX262111	KX262161	Malysheva and Spirin 2017
Eichleriellamacrospora	He2189	USA	MH178251	MH178274	Li et al. 2023
Eichleriellaochracea	SP467242	Brazil	MK391514	–	Alvarenga et al. 2019
Eichleriellashearii	LR 23258	–	KX262139	–	Malysheva and Spirin 2017
Eichleriellashearii	USJ 54609	Costa Rica	AF291284	AF291335	Weiß et al. 2001
Eichleriellasicca	OM 17349	USA	KX262143	KX262191	Malysheva and Spirin 2017
Eichleriellasinensis	CLZhao 29368	China	PQ757164	–	Present study
Eichleriellasinensis	CLZhao 31647	China	PQ757165	PQ757166	Present study
Eichleriellasinensis	He4196	China	MH178254	MH178277	Li et al. 2023
Eichleriellatenuicula	CLZhao 35797	China	PQ197731	–	Present study
Eichleriellatenuicula	He3483	China	MH178256	MH178279	Li et al. 2023
Eichleriellaxinpingensis	CLZhao 836	China	MK560879	MK560883	Liu et al. 2019
Eichleriellaxinpingensis	CLZhao 842	China	MK560880	MK560884	Liu et al. 2019
Eichleriellayunnanensis	CLZhao 31317	China	PP889850	PP897009	Deng et al. 2024a
Eichleriellayunnanensis	CLZhao 31350	China	PP889852	PP897010	Deng et al. 2024a
Elmerinacladophora	Miettinen 14314	Indonesia	MG757509	MG757509	Malysheva et al. 2018
Elmerinasclerodontia	Miettinen 16431	Malaysia	MG757512	MG757512	Malysheva et al. 2018
Erythriciumhypnophilum	MG169	France	MW805858	MW805823	Ghobad-Nejhad et al. 2021
Erythriciumlaetum	MG72	–	GU590875	GU590878	Ghobad-Nejhad et al. 2021
Exidiacandida	VS 3921	Russia	KY801867	KY801892	Spirin et al. 2018
Exidiaglandulosa	MW 355	Germany	AF291273	AF291319	Weiß et al. 2001
Exidiapithya	MW 313	Germany	AF291275	AF291321	Weiß et al. 2001
Exidiareflexa	Dai 20833	China	MN850386	MN850362	Ye et al. 2020
Exidiasubglandulosa	Wu 270	China	MN850381	MN850357	Ye et al. 2020
Exidiopsiseffusa	OM 19136	Finland	KX262145	KX262193	Malysheva and Spirin 2017
Gloeocystidiellumbisporum	KHL11135	Norway	AY048877	AY048877	Larsson and Larsson 2003
Gloeocystidiellumclavuligerum	FCUG2731	Russia	AF310083	AF310083	Larsson and Larsson 2003
Gloeodontiaeriobotryae	Dai 12080	–	JQ349116	JQ349103	Zhou and Dai 2013
Gloeodontiapyramidata	LR15502	–	AF506446	AF506446	Larsson and Larsson 2003
Gloeohypochniciumanalogum	NZFS:4549	New Zealand	MH409974	–	Hood et al. 2018
Gloeohypochniciumanalogum	PDD:91626	New Zealand	GQ411521	–	Fukami et al. 2010
Gloeohypochniciumyunnanense	CLZhao 30018	China	PQ783830	PQ783840	Present study
Gloeohypochniciumyunnanense	CLZhao 30049*	China	PQ783831	PQ783841	Present study
Gloeophyllumabietinum	H 22988	Switzerland	JX524619	KC782733	He et al. 2014
Hericiumabietis	NH 6990	Canada	AF506456	AF506456	Zhou et al. 2021
Hericiumcoralloides	NH 282	Sweden	AF506459	AF506459	Zhou et al. 2021
Heterobasidionannosum	Dai 20962	China	ON417163	ON417213	Liu et al. 2022
Heteroradulumaustraliense	LWZ 20180512-25	Australia	MZ325255	MZ310425	Li et al. 2022
Heteroradulumdegluben	LE 38182	Sweden	KX262112	KX262162	Malysheva and Spirin 2017
Heteroradulumkmetii	He 4915	China	MH178262	MH178286	Li et al. 2023
Heteroradulumlabyrinthinum	Yuan 1600	China	KM379139	KM379140	Yuan et al. 2018
Heteroradulummussooriense	Dai 17193	China	MH178265	MH178289	Li et al. 2023
Hyphodermacremeoalbum	CLZhao 17007	China	OM985716	OM985753	Dong et al. 2024a
Lactariuscrocatus	KVP08034	Thailand	HQ318243	HQ318151	Wu et al. 2020
Lactariusdeceptivus	AFTOL-ID 682	USA	AY854089	AY631899	Wu et al. 2020
Laetisariafuciformis	CBS:182.49	Netherlands	MH856485	MH868023	Vu et al. 2019
Laetisariaroseipellis	CBS:299.82	–	EU622846	EU622844	Vu et al. 2019
Lawreymycespalicei	Palice 2509	Ecuador	AY542864	AY542864	Lücking and Moncada 2017
Lawreymycespalicei	Palice 4369	Ecuador	AY542865	AY542865	Lücking and Moncada 2017
Lentinellussublineolatus	TENN 059307	Austria	NR119505	–	Dong et al. 2024a
Lentinellusvulpinus	7267	Sweden	AY513230	–	Kneal and Smith 2015
Marchandiomycesaurantioroseus	FCUG 1166	Sweden	KP864659	HM046929	Ghobad-Nejhad et al. 2021
Marchandiomycescorallinus	JL128-98	–	AY583327	AY583331	DePriest et al. 2005
Megalocystidiumdiffissum	V.Spirin4244	Sweden	MT477147	MT477147	Spirin et al. 2021
Megalocystidiumleucoxanthum	HK9808	Sweden	AF506420	AF506420	Spirin et al. 2021
Mycobernardiaincrustans	CBS:172.36	Canada	MH855759	MH867272	Vu et al. 2019
Mycobernardiaincrustans	Duhem 3613	France	MW805860	MW805825	Ghobad-Nejhad et al. 2021
Neoaleurodiscusfujii	He2921	China	KU559357	KU574845	Dai et al. 2017
Neoaleurodiscusfujii	Wu0807-41	Japan	–	FJ799924	Dai et al. 2017
Peniophorahalimi	CBS:864.84	France	MH861845	MH873533	Vu et al. 2019
Peniophoraincarnata	CBS:398.50	France	MH856680	MH868197	Vu et al. 2019
Protodaedaleafoliacea	Yuan 5691	China	JQ764666	JQ764644	Zhou and Dai 2013
Protodaedaleahispida	WD 548	Japan	AB871768	AB871749	Sotome et al. 2014
Punctulariaatropurpurascens	UC 2022981	USA	KP814559	–	Knijn & Ferretti 2018
Punctulariaatropurpurascens	WEI 17-662	China	MW570883	MW570888	Wei et al. 2022
Punctulariabambusicola	CLZhao 4133	China	MW559982	MW559984	Guan et al. 2021
Punctulariabambusicola	CLZhao 9098	China	MW559983	MW559985	Guan et al. 2021
Punctularianigrodontea	CLZhao 30592*	China	PQ783829	PQ783839	Present study
Punctulariastrigosozonata	AFTOL-ID 1248	–	DQ398958	AF518642	Wei et al. 2022
Punctulariastrigosozonata	CBS:34534	–	MH855559	MH867064	Vu et al. 2019
Punctulariopsisefibulata	Burdsall 8824	USA	KR494276	KR494277	Wei et al. 2022
Punctulariopsisobducens	MG70	Ethiopia	HM046918	HM046933	Ghobad-Nejhad et al. 2010
Punctulariopsissubglobispora	FCUG 2535	Argentina	HM046917	HM046932	Guan et al. 2021
Russulablennia	569/BB08.066	Switzerland	MH545687	KU237556	Wu et al. 2020
Russulapseudociliata	545/BB08.061	Switzerland	MH545688	KU237537	Wu et al. 2020
Sclerotremagriseobrunneum	TN 2722	Canada	KX262144	KX262192	Malysheva and Spirin 2017
Sclerotremagriseobrunneum	VS 7674	Russia	KX262140	KX262188	Malysheva and Spirin 2017
Scytinostromaacystidiatum	Dai 24608	China	OQ689127	OQ629351	Zhang et al. 2023
Scytinostromabambusinum	JXH 643	China	OR510627	PP660873	Ji et al. 2024
Sistotremabrinkmannii	236	Netherlands	JX535169	JX535170	Alvarenga and Gibertoni 2021
Stereodiscuspseudotrivialis	SPG6799	Argentina	OR506747	OR506751	Gorjón and Greslebin 2024
Stereodiscuspseudotrivialis	SPG6874	Argentina	OR506744	OR506746	Gorjón and Greslebin 2024
Stereumhirsutum	CBS:108532	Russia	MH862810	MH874407	Vu et al. 2019
Stereumsanguinolentum	CBS:529.50	Canada	MH856746	MH868268	Vu et al. 2019
Terrestriporiaalba	Dai 18546	Malaysia	MT068562	MT068558	Wu et al. 2020
Terrestriporiaalba	Dai 18547	Malaysia	MT068563	MT068559	Wu et al. 2020
Tremellochaeteatlantica	URM90199	Brazil	MG594381	MG594383	Alvarenga et al. 2019
Tremellochaetecilliata	SP467241	Brazil	MK391523	MK391529	Alvarenga et al. 2019
Tremellochaetejaponica	LE 303446	Russia	KX262110	KX262160	Malysheva and Spirin 2017
Varariafissurata	CLZhao 8171	China	OQ025219	OR539503	Deng et al. 2024b
Varariatropica	CBS:704.81	France	MH861447	MH873189	Vu et al. 2019
Vuilleminiacomedens	AFTOL-ID 1247	–	DQ398959	AF518666	Wei et al. 2022
Vuilleminiacoryli	MG136	Turkmenistan	JN387996	JN388005	Ghobad-Nejhad and Ginns 2012
Vuilleminiacystidiata	KUC20131022-26	Korea	KJ668433	KJ668285	Wei et al. 2022
Vuilleminiaerastii	MG97	Canada	JN387998	JN388007	Ghobad-Nejhad and Ginns 2012
Vuilleminiamacrospora	MG167	France	JX892940	JX892941	Ghobad-Nejhad and Duhem 2014
Vuilleminianilsii	MG171	France	JX892947	JX892948	Ghobad-Nejhad and Duhem 2014
Vuilleminiapseudocystidiata	MG69	France	HM046888	HM046928	Ghobad-Nejhad et al. 2010
Waiteacircinata	CBS:472.82	USA	MH861518	MH873265	Vu et al. 2019
Waiteaguianensis	GUY13-110	Guiana	MW449090	MW449101	Wei et al. 2022
Xylobolusfrustulatus	He2231	USA	KU881905	KU574825	Tian et al. 2018
Xylobolussubpileatus	FP-106735	USA	–	AY039309	Tian et al. 2018

Full text

Introduction

The kingdom of fungi is one of the most diverse groups of living organisms on earth; its members occur across a broad range of ecosystems, including extreme environments, with an estimated number of species in the range of 2–3 million (Bhunjun et al. 2022, 2024; Wijayawardene et al. 2022, 2024; Dong et al. 2024a; Hyde et al. 2024a, b). Based on molecular phylogenetic evidence, numerous new taxa have been discovered in the past ten years (Wang and Cai 2023; Yuan et al. 2023; Zhao et al. 2023; Deng et al. 2024b; Dong et al. 2024b; He et al. 2024; Qin et al. 2024).

The genus Conferticium Hallenb. (Stereaceae, Russulales) was erected in 1980 and typified by C.insidiosum (Bourdot & Galzin) Hallenb., which is characterized by the resupinate basidiomes with membranaceous to ceraceous, smooth to tuberculate hymenophore, a monomitic simple-septate hyphae, and the numerous cylindrical, sinuous gloeocystidia (Bernicchia and Gorjón 2010). Based on the MycoBank database (http://www.mycobank.org, accessed on 27 January 2025) and the Index Fungorum (http://www.indexfungorum.org, accessed on 27 January 2025), six specific and infraspecific names were registered in Conferticium, and it is a small genus only including five widely recognized species up to now.

The genus Dendrocorticiopsis Sheng H. Wu et al. (Punctulariaceae, Corticiales) was introduced by Sheng H. Wu, with the description of one species, D.orientalis Sheng H. Wu et al. (Wei et al. 2022). It is conventionally defined by having strictly resupinate basidiomata, an ivory hymenophore, a monomitic hyphal system with clamped hyphae, encrusted cystidia, dendrohyphidia, and ellipsoid to ovoid basidiospores (Wei et al. 2022). Based on the MycoBank database (http://www.mycobank.org, accessed on 27 January 2025) and the Index Fungorum (http://www.indexfungorum.org, accessed on 27 January 2025), Dendrocorticiopsis is a monotypic genus.

The genus Eichleriella Bres. was introduced in 1903, typified by E.incarnata Bres., and it is a species-rich genus that belongs to Auriculariaceae (Auriculariales). The genus is characterized by annual or short-living perennial, leathery to ceraceous basidiomata with smooth, pale-colored hymenophore (in some species covered by spines), a monomitic to dimitic hyphal system with clamped genitive hyphae, cystidia often present, longitudinally septate basidia with 2- or 4-celled, and colorless, cylindrical to narrowly cylindrical basidiospores (Malysheva and Spirin 2017; Li et al. 2023; Deng et al. 2024a). Based on the MycoBank database (http://www.mycobank.org, accessed on 27 January 2025) and the Index Fungorum (http://www.indexfungorum.org, accessed on 27 January 2025), the genus Eichleriella has 32 specific and registered names, with 22 species accepted worldwide (Malysheva and Spirin 2017, Liu et al. 2019, Li et al. 2023; Deng et al. 2024a).

The genus Gloeohypochnicium (Parmasto) Hjortstam (Russulales), typified by G.analogum (Bourdot & Galzin) Hjortstam (Bernicchia and Gorjón 2010), is characterized by the resupinate basidiomes with smooth to tuberculate hymenophore, a monomitic hyphal system with clamps on generative hyphae, the numerous cylindrical, sinuous gloeocystidia, and globose to ellipsoid, thick-walled, warted basidiospores (Bernicchia and Gorjón 2010). Based on the MycoBank database (http://www.mycobank.org, accessed on 27 January 2025) and the Index Fungorum (http://www.indexfungorum.org, accessed on 27 January 2025), Gloeohypochnicium has registered two specific and infraspecific names, and it is a small genus only including two widely recognized species so far (Bernicchia and Gorjón 2010; He et al. 2024).

Punctularia Patouillard (Punctulariaceae, Corticiales) was typified with P.tuberculosa (Pat.) Pat. & Lagerh. (current name P.atropurpurascens (Berk. & Broome) Petch, which is characterized by resupinate to effused-reflexed basidiomata, gelatinous when fresh, rigid upon drying, tuberculate or radial ridges hymenophore, a monomitic hyphal system with clamped generative hyphae, yellowish to brown dendrohyphidia, and thin-walled, smooth, ellipsoid, acyanophilous basidiospores (Bernicchia and Gorjón 2010). Based on the MycoBank database (http://www.mycobank.org, accessed on 27 January 2025) and the Index Fungorum (http://www.indexfungorum.org, accessed on 27 January 2025), Punctularia has registered six specific and infraspecific names, and three species have been recognized worldwide up to now (Bernicchia and Gorjón 2010; Guan et al. 2021; He et al. 2024).

Molecular phylogenetic approaches have revolutionized the fungal taxonomy of Basidiomycota in the last decades, and these advances have greatly enhanced our knowledge of species diversity in Basidiomycota (Lücking et al. 2021; He et al. 2022; Wang et al. 2023; Dong et al. 2024a). The family Auriculariaceae is the largest and best-supported clade in the order Auriculariales and consists of a large group of wood-decaying fungi with varied basidiomes (Dong et al. 2024b; He et al. 2024). Corticioid and stereoid taxa are numerous in Auriculariaceae and are typically classified into three main genera: Eichleriella Bres., Exidiopsis (Bref.) A. Møller, and Heterochaete Pat. (Malysheva and Spirin 2017; Li et al. 2023; Deng et al. 2024a). DNA sequence-based classification and identification of the genus Eichleriella (Auriculariaceae) have reported that six species have been described from China recently (Li et al. 2023; Deng et al. 2024a). Corticiales K.H. Larss. is a small order of corticioid fungi with four families *viz.*Corticiaceae Herter, Dendrominiaceae Ghobad-Nejhad, Punctulariaceae Donk, and Vuilleminiaceae Maire ex Lotsy (Wei et al. 2022; He et al. 2024). Most of the previous studies of Punctulariaceae focused on European species (Bernicchia and Gorjón 2010; Gorjón and Bernicchia 2017). In China, the research on this family mainly focuses on the genera Dendrocorticiopsis and Punctularia; some new taxa have been proposed based on a combination of morphological features and molecular data (Guan et al. 2021; Wei et al. 2022; He et al. 2024). Members of the Russulales Kreisel ex P.M. Kirk, P.F. Cannon & J.C. David exhibit diverse basidiome structures, which can range from agaricoid to discoid, clavarioid, polyporoid, corticoid, and even gasteroid, and the multigene phylogenetic analyses clarify the evolutionary relationships of some small genera in the latest study (Yuan et al. 2021; He et al. 2024). According to recent research in molecular systematics, the genus Conferticium (Stereaceae, Russulales) has reported one new species, C.fissuratum Xin Yang & C.L. Zhao from Yunnan Province (Bernicchia and Gorjón 2010; Shen et al. 2024). The taxonomic status of the genus Gloeohypochnicium is unclear, and it was only placed in the order Russulales, and it is a mystery genus; no new taxa in the genus have been described for nearly a decade (He et al. 2022, 2024). However, the phylogeny of the genus Gloeohypochnicium is ambiguous due to a lack of molecular evidence and morphological data.

In this paper, we presented the morphological characteristics and multigene molecular analyses with ITS and nLSU DNA markers to support the taxonomy and phylogenetic position of five new species.

Materials and methods

Sample collection and herbarium specimen preparation

Fresh basidiomata growing on angiosperm branches were collected from Dehong, Diqing, Tengchong, and Xishuangbanna of Yunnan Province, P.R. China. The samples were photographed in situ, and fresh macroscopic details were recorded. Photographs were recorded using a Jianeng 80D camera (Tokyo, Japan). Specimens were dried in an electric food dehydrator at 45 °C (Hu et al. 2022), then the specimens were sealed in an envelope and zip-lock plastic bags and labeled (Zhao et al. 2023). The dried specimens were deposited in the herbarium of the Southwest Forestry University (SWFC), Kunming, Yunnan Province, China.

Morphology

The macromorphological descriptions were based on field notes and photos captured in the field and lab. The color terminology follows Petersen (1996). The micromorphological data were obtained from the dried specimens observed under a Nikon Eclipse E100 light microscope following Zhao and Wu (2017). The following abbreviations are used: KOH = 5% potassium hydroxide water solution, CB– = acyanophilous, IKI+ = amyloid, IKI– = both inamyloid and indextrinoid, L = mean spore length (arithmetic average for all spores), W = mean spore width (arithmetic average for all spores), Q = variation in the L/W ratios between the specimens studied, and n = a/b (number of spores (a) measured from given number (b) of specimens).

DNA extraction, PCR, and sequencing

The CTAB rapid plant genome extraction kit-DN14 (Aidlab Biotechnologies Co., Ltd., Beijing, China) was used to obtain genomic DNA from the dried specimens according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was amplified with the primer pair ITS5/ITS4 (White et al. 1990). The nuclear large subunit (nLSU) region with the primer pair LR0R/LR7 (Vilgalys and Hester 1990). The PCR procedure for ITS was as follows: initial denaturation at 95 °C for 3 min, followed by 35 cycles at 94 °C for 40 s, 58 °C for 45 s, and 72 °C for 1 min, and a final extension of 72 °C for 10 min. The PCR procedure for nLSU was as follows: initial denaturation at 94 °C for 1 min, followed by 35 cycles at 94 °C for 30 s, 48 °C for 1 min, and 72 °C for 1.5 min, and a final extension of 72 °C for 10 min. The PCR products were purified and sequenced at Kunming Tsingke Biological Technology Limited Company (Yunnan Province, P.R. China). All newly generated sequences were deposited in GenBank (Table 1).

Molecular phylogeny

The sequences were aligned in MAFFT version 7 using the G-INS-i strategy (Katoh et al. 2019). The alignment was adjusted manually using AliView version 1.27 (Larsson 2014). (1) Hyphodermacremeoalbum (Höhn. & Litsch.) Jülich was assigned as an outgroup to root trees in the ITS+nLSU analysis (Fig. 1) (Dong et al. 2024a); (2) Varariafissurata Y.L. Deng & C.L. Zhao were assigned as an outgroup to root trees following the ITS+nLSU analysis (Fig. 2) (Deng et al. 2024b); (3) Gloeophyllumabietinum (Bull.) P. Karst. was assigned as an outgroup to root trees following the ITS+nLSU analysis (Fig. 3) (He et al. 2014); (4) Sistotremabrinkmannii (Bres.) J. Erikss. was assigned as an outgroup to root trees following the ITS+nLSU analysis (Fig. 4) (Alvarenga and Gibertoni 2021); (5) Adustochaetepunctata J.H. Dong & C.L. Zhao were assigned as an outgroup to root trees following the ITS+nLSU analysis (Fig. 5) (Dong et al. 2024b).

Maximum parsimony strict consensus tree illustrating the phylogeny of Conferticium and Gloeohypochnicium and related genera in the order Russulales, based on ITS+nLSU sequences; branches are labeled with maximum likelihood bootstrap value ≥ 70%, parsimony bootstrap value ≥ 50%, and Bayesian posterior probabilities ≥ 0.95.

Maximum parsimony strict consensus tree illustrating the phylogeny of Conferticium and related genus in the family Stereaceae, based on ITS+nLSU sequences; branches are labeled with maximum likelihood bootstrap value ≥ 70%, parsimony bootstrap value ≥ 50%, and Bayesian posterior probabilities ≥ 0.95.

Maximum parsimony strict consensus tree illustrating the phylogeny of Dendrocorticiopsis and Punctularia and related genera in the order Corticiales, based on ITS+nLSU sequences; branches are labeled with maximum likelihood bootstrap value ≥ 70%, parsimony bootstrap value ≥ 50%, and Bayesian posterior probabilities ≥ 0.95.

Maximum parsimony strict consensus tree illustrating the phylogeny of Eichleriella and related genera in the family Auriculariaceae, based on ITS+nLSU sequences; branches are labeled with maximum likelihood bootstrap value ≥ 70%, parsimony bootstrap value ≥ 50%, and Bayesian posterior probabilities ≥ 0.95.

Maximum parsimony strict consensus tree illustrating the phylogeny of Eichleriella and related species in the genus Eichleriella, based on ITS+nLSU sequences; branches are labeled with maximum likelihood bootstrap value ≥ 70%, parsimony bootstrap value ≥ 50%, and Bayesian posterior probabilities ≥ 0.95.

Maximum parsimony (MP), maximum likelihood (ML), and Bayesian inference (BI) analyses were applied to the combined datasets following a previous study (Wu et al. 2022; Dong et al. 2024a), and the tree construction procedure was performed in PAUP* version 4.0b10 (Swofford 2002). All characters were equally weighted, and gaps were treated as missing data. Trees were inferred using the heuristic search option with TBR branch swapping and 1,000 random sequence additions. Max trees were set to 5000, branches of zero length were collapsed, and all parsimonious trees were saved. Clade robustness was assessed using bootstrap (BT) analysis with 1000 replicates (Felsenstein 1985). Descriptive tree statistics, tree length (TL), consistency index (CI), retention index (RI), rescaled consistency index (RC), and homoplasy index (HI) were calculated for each maximum parsimonious tree generated. The multiple sequence alignment was also analyzed using maximum likelihood (ML) in RAxML-HPC2 (Miller et al. 2012). Branch support (BS) for ML analysis was determined by 1000 bootstrap replicates.

MrModeltest 2.3 (Nylander 2004) was used to determine the best-fit evolution model for each dataset for Bayesian inference (BI), which was performed using MrBayes 3.2.7a with a general time reversible model of DNA substitution and a gamma distribution rate variation across sites (Ronquist et al. 2012). Four Markov chains were run twice from a random starting tree for 0.4 million generations of the datasets (Fig. 1), 0.4 million generations of the datasets (Fig. 2), 1.6 million generations of the datasets (Fig. 3), 0.8 million generations of the datasets (Fig. 4), and for 0.6 million generations of the datasets (Fig. 5), and the tree was sampled every 1000 generations. The first one-fourth of all generations were discarded as burn-in. The majority rule consensus tree of all remaining trees was calculated. Branches were considered as significantly supported if they received a maximum likelihood bootstrap value (BS) ≥70%, maximum parsimony bootstrap value (BT) ≥50%, or Bayesian posterior probabilities (BPP) ≥0.95.

Results

The phylogeny of Conferticium

The datasets based on ITS+nLSU (Fig. 1) comprise sequences from 44 fungal specimens representing 39 species. The datasets had an aligned length of 2,270 characters, of which 1,183 characters are constant, 293 are variable and parsimony-uninformative, and 794 are parsimony-informative. Maximum parsimony analysis yielded 1 equally parsimonious tree (TL = 4447, CI = 0.4160, H = 0.5840, RI = 0.5275, RC = 0.2194). Bayesian analysis and ML analysis resulted in a similar topology as MP analysis with an average standard deviation of split frequencies of 0.008678 (BI), and the effective sample size (ESS) across the two runs is double the average ESS (avg ESS) = 144.5. The phylogenetic tree (Fig. 1) inferred from ITS+nLSU sequences revealed that the new species Conferticiumalbocremeum grouped into the genus Conferticium and clustered into the family Stereaceae (Russulales), in which it was retrieved as a sister to C.heimii (Boidin) Sheng H. Wu.

The datasets based on ITS+nLSU (Fig. 2) comprise sequences from 31 fungal specimens representing 23 species. The datasets had an aligned length of 2,136 characters, of which 1,456 characters are constant, 298 are variable and parsimony-uninformative, and 382 are parsimony-informative. Maximum parsimony analysis yielded 1 equally parsimonious tree (TL = 1491, CI = 0.6237, HI = 0.3763, RI = 0.5681, RC = 0.3544). Bayesian analysis and ML analysis resulted in a similar topology as MP analysis with an average standard deviation of split frequencies of 0.013157 (BI), and the effective sample size (ESS) across the two runs is double the average ESS (avg ESS) = 265.5. The phylogenetic tree (Fig. 2) inferred from ITS+nLSU sequences revealed that Conferticiumalbocremeum grouped into the genus Conferticium and clustered into the family Stereaceae, in which it was closely related to C.heimii.

The phylogeny of Dendrocorticiopsis

The datasets based on ITS+nLSU (Fig. 3) comprise sequences from 44 fungal specimens representing 37 species. The datasets had an aligned length of 2,181 characters, of which 1,313 characters are constant, 232 are variable and parsimony-uninformative, and 736 are parsimony-informative. Maximum parsimony analysis yielded 1 equally parsimonious tree (TL = 3423, CI = 0.4368, HI = 0.5632, RI = 0.5695, RC = 0.2488). Bayesian analysis and ML analysis resulted in a similar topology as MP analysis with an average standard deviation of split frequencies of 0.013154 (BI), and the effective sample size (ESS) across the two runs is double the average ESS (avg ESS) = 658. The phylogenetic tree (Fig. 1) inferred from ITS+nLSU sequences revealed that the new species Dendrocorticiopsisluteoalba grouped into the genus Dendrocorticiopsis and clustered into the family Punctulariaceae (Corticiales), in which it was retrieved as a sister to D.orientalis Sheng H. Wu et al.

The phylogeny of Eichleriella

The datasets based on ITS+nLSU (Fig. 4) comprise sequences from 45 fungal specimens representing 43 species. The datasets had an aligned length of 2,104 characters, of which 1,516 characters are constant, 254 are variable and parsimony-uninformative, and 334 are parsimony-informative. Maximum parsimony analysis yielded 1 equally parsimonious tree (TL = 1783 CI = 0.4773, HI = 0.5227, RI = 0.5633, RC = 0.2688). Bayesian analysis and ML analysis resulted in a similar topology as MP analysis with an average standard deviation of split frequencies of 0.0024569 (BI), and the effective sample size (ESS) across the two runs is double the average ESS (avg ESS) = 361.5. The phylogenetic tree (Fig. 4) inferred from ITS+nLSU sequences revealed that Eichleriellabiluoxueshanensis grouped into the genus Eichleriella and clustered into the family Auriculariaceae, in which it was retrieved as a sister to E.sinensis (Teng) S.H. He & Nakasone.

The datasets based on ITS+nLSU (Fig. 5) comprise sequences from 31 fungal specimens representing 24 species. The datasets had an aligned length of 1,905 characters, of which 1,687 characters are constant, 101 are variable and parsimony-uninformative, and 117 are parsimony-informative. Maximum parsimony analysis yielded 1 equally parsimonious tree (TL = 402, CI = 0.6542, HI = 0.3458, RI = 0.7495, RC = 0.4094). Bayesian analysis and ML analysis resulted in a similar topology as MP analysis with an average standard deviation of split frequencies of 0.009368 (BI), and the effective sample size (ESS) across the two runs is double the average ESS (avg ESS) = 264.5. The phylogenetic tree (Fig. 5) inferred from ITS+nLSU sequences revealed that Eichleriellabiluoxueshanensis grouped into the genus Eichleriella, in which it was grouped with the clade comprising E.sinensis (Teng) S.H. He & Nakasone.

The phylogeny of Gloeohypochnicium

The datasets based on ITS+nLSU (Fig. 1) comprise sequences from 44 fungal specimens representing 39 species. The datasets had an aligned length of 2,270 characters, of which 1,183 characters are constant, 293 are variable and parsimony-uninformative, and 794 are parsimony-informative. Maximum parsimony analysis yielded 1 equally parsimonious tree (TL = 4447, CI = 0.4160, HI = 0.5840, RI = 0.5275, RC = 0.2194). Bayesian analysis and ML analysis resulted in a similar topology as MP analysis with an average standard deviation of split frequencies of 0.008678 (BI), and the effective sample size (ESS) across the two runs is double the average ESS (avg ESS) = 144.5. The phylogenetic tree (Fig. 1) inferred from ITS+nLSU sequences revealed that Gloeohypochniciumyunnanense grouped into the genus Gloeohypochnicium and clustered into the order Russulales, in which it was closely related to G.analogum (Bourdot & Galzin) Hjortstam.

The phylogeny of Punctularia

The datasets based on ITS+nLSU (Fig. 3) comprise sequences from 44 fungal specimens representing 37 species. The datasets had an aligned length of 2,181 characters, of which 1,313 characters are constant, 232 are variable and parsimony-uninformative, and 736 are parsimony-informative. Maximum parsimony analysis yielded 1 equally parsimonious tree (TL = 3423, CI = 0.4368, HI = 0.5632, RI = 0.5695, RC = 0.2488). Bayesian analysis and ML analysis resulted in a similar topology as MP analysis with an average standard deviation of split frequencies of 0.013154 (BI), and the effective sample size (ESS) across the two runs is double the average ESS (avg ESS) = 658. The phylogenetic tree (Fig. 1) inferred from ITS+nLSU sequences revealed that Punctularianigrodontea grouped into the genus Punctularia and clustered into the family Punctulariaceae (Corticiales), in which it was grouped with the clade comprising P.atropurpurascens (Berk. & Broome) Petch, P.bambusicola C.L. Zhao and P.strigosozonata (Schwein.) P.H.B. Talbot.

Taxonomy

Conferticium

albocremeum

Taxon classificationFungiRussulalesStereaceae



L. Wang & C.L. Zhao sp. nov.

4A61C852-B8C1-514E-B3C8-39DA9CEBFA49

856958

Figs 6 , 7 , 8

Typification.

China. Yunnan Province • Xishuangbanna, Wild Elephant Valley, GPS coordinates: 22°10′N, 100°51′E, altitude: 900 m asl., on the fallen angiosperm branch, leg. C.L. Zhao, 25 January 2024 CLZhao 35693 (SWFC!).

Etymology.

Albocremeum (Lat.) refers to the new species having white to cream hymenophore.

Basidiomata.

Annual, resupinate, closely adnate, membranaceous, without odor or taste when fresh, up to 10 cm long, 2 cm wide, and 700 μm thick. Hymenophore smooth, white (60) to cream (4A2/3) when fresh, cream (4A2/3) upon drying. Sterile margin narrow, cream (4A2/3), up to 1 mm.

Basidiomata of Conferticiumalbocremeum (holotype CLZhao 35693). Scale bars: 1 cm (A); 1 mm (B).

Hyphal system.

Monomitic; generative hyphae with simple-septa, colorless, thin-walled, smooth, rarely branched, interwoven, IKI+, CB–, 2–3 µm in diameter; tissues unchanged in KOH.

Microscopic structures of Conferticiumalbocremeum (holotype CLZhao 35693): basidiospores (A); basidia and basidioles (B); gloeocystidia (C); a section of the hymenium (D). Scale bars: 10 µm (A–D).

Hymenium.

Gloeocystidia subclavate, flexuous, colorless, mostly constricted in the middle, thin-walled, smooth, 33–47.5 × 5–8 µm. Basidia subcylindrical to subclavate, slightly flexuous, with a basal simple septum and four sterigmata, 22–36 × 4.5–7 µm; basidioles numerous, in shape similar to basidia.

Sections of hymenium of Conferticiumalbocremeum (holotype CLZhao 35693): basidiospores (A); basidia (B); basidioles (C); gloeocystidia (D); a section of the generative hyphae (E). Scale bars: 10 µm (A–E); 10 × 100.

Spores.

Basidiospores ellipsoid with a distinct apiculus, colorless, thin-walled, finely verrucose but appearing smooth by light microscope, IKI+, CB–, 9–11 × 5–7 µm, L = 9.82 µm, W = 5.84 µm, Q = 1.36–1.68 (n = 90/3).

Additional specimens examined (paratypes).

China. Yunnan Province • Dehong, Mang City, Mengga Town, Tongbiguan Provincial Nature Reserve, GPS coordinates: 24°46′N, 97°34′E, altitude: 1300 m asl., on the fallen angiosperm branch, leg. C.L. Zhao, 29 June 2024, CLZhao 36343 • Dehong, Yingjiang County, Tongbiguan Provincial Nature Reserve, GPS coordinates: 25°50′N, 97°36′E, altitude: 1000 m asl., on the fallen angiosperm branch, leg. C.L. Zhao, 2 July 2024, CLZhao 37176 • Tengchong, Tuantian Town, Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve, GPS coordinates: 25°27′N, 98°46′E, altitude: 2500 m asl., on the fallen angiosperm branch, leg. C.L. Zhao, 7 July 2024, CLZhao 39283 (SWFC!).

Dendrocorticiopsis

luteoalba

Taxon classificationFungiCorticialesPunctulariaceae



L. Wang & C.L. Zhao sp. nov.

3D3B5305-96D0-5FC0-AEDB-262A3FA24824

856959

Figs 9 , 10 , 11

Typification.

China. Yunnan Province • Dehong, Yingjiang County, Tongbiguan Provincial Nature Reserve, GPS coordinates: 25°50′N, 97°36′E, altitude: 1000 m asl., on the fallen angiosperm branch, leg. C.L. Zhao, 19 July 2023, CLZhao 30380 (SWFC!).

Etymology.

Luteoalba (Lat.) refers to the new species having a white to buff hymenophore.

Basidiomata.

Annual, resupinate, closely adnate, membranaceous, without odor or taste when fresh, up to 6 cm long, 2 cm wide, and 300 μm thick. Hymenophore smooth, white (60) when fresh, white (60) to buff (4A4) upon drying. Sterile margin narrow, white (60) to buff (4A4), up to 1 mm.

Basidiomata of Dendrocorticiopsisluteoalba (holotype CLZhao 30380). Scale bars: 1 cm (A); 1 mm (B).

Hyphal system.

Monomitic; generative hyphae with clamp connections, colorless, thin- to slightly thick-walled, smooth, branched, interwoven, usually with crystal masses, IKI–, CB–, 2.5–4 µm in diameter; tissues unchanged in KOH.

Microscopic structures of Dendrocorticiopsisluteoalba (holotype CLZhao 30380): basidiospores (A); basidia and basidioles (B); dendrohyphidia (C); cystidia (D); gloeocystidia (E); a section of the hymenium (F). Scale bars: 10 µm (A–F).

Hymenium.

Cystidia are of two types: (1) capitate, apically with resinous materials, gradually dissolving in KOH, colorless, thin-walled, smooth, 8.5–14 × 6.5–8.5 µm; (2) gloeocystidia, clavate to subulate, slightly flexuous, colorless, thin-walled, smooth, 68.5–90 × 8–10 µm. Dendrohyphidia numerous, thick-walled toward base, colorless, 16–19 × 2.5–3.5 µm. Basidia subclavate to clavate, flexuous, with a basal clamp connection and four sterigmata, 15.5–28.5 × 4–5.5 µm; basidioles numerous, in shape similar to basidia.

Sections of hymenium of Dendrocorticiopsisluteoalba (holotype CLZhao 30380): basidiospores (A); basidia and basidioles (B); dendrohyphidia (C); gloeocystidia (D); cystidia (E); a section of generative hyphae (F). Scale bars: 10 µm (A–F); 10 × 100.

Spores.

Basidiospores ellipsoid, colorless, thin-walled, smooth, IKI–, CB–, (6.5–)7–8 × (4–)4.5–5.5 µm, L = 7.29 µm, W = 4.97µm, Q = 1.47 (n = 30/1).

Eichleriella

biluoxueshanensis

Taxon classificationFungiAuricularialesAuriculariaceae



L. Wang & C.L. Zhao sp. nov.

BF299467-08A4-55BE-B9A4-D984347DF251

856960

Figs 12 , 13 , 14

Typification.

China. Yunnan Province • Diqing, Weixi County, Weideng, Songpo, GPS coordinates: 27°05′N, 99°13′E, altitude: 1400 m asl., on the fallen angiosperm branch, leg. C.L., 13 November 2023, CLZhao 34516 (SWFC!).

Etymology.

Biluoxueshanensis (Lat.) refers to the locality (Biluoxueshan) of the holotype specimen.

Basidiomata.

Annual, resupinate, closely adnate, coriaceous, without odor or taste when fresh, up to 8 cm long, 2 cm wide, and 700 μm thick. Hymenophore grandinioid, cream (4A2/3) to buff (4A4) when fresh, buff (4A4) to cinnamon-buff (4/5B4) upon drying. Sterile margin narrow, white (60) to cream (4A2/3), up to 1 mm.

Basidiomata of Eichleriellabiluoxueshanensis (holotype CLZhao 34516). Scale bars: 1 cm (A); 1 mm (B).

Hyphal system.

Dimitic; generative hyphae simple-septate, colorless, thin-walled, smooth, rarely branched, interwoven, 3–4 µm in diameter; skeletal hyphae distinctly thick-walled, smooth, unbranched, interwoven, IKI–, CB–, 3–4 µm in diameter; tissues unchanged in KOH.

Microscopic structures of Eichleriellabiluoxueshanensis (holotype CLZhao 34516): basidiospores (A); basidia and basidioles (B); cystidia (C); hyphidia (D); a section of the hymenium (E). Scale bars: 10 µm (A–E).

Hymenium.

Cystidia subclavate, flexuous, colorless, thin-walled, smooth, 40–45.5 × 6–9.5 µm. Basidia narrowly ovoid to ellipsoid, longitudinally septate, four-celled, 21–29 × 11.5–15 µm; basidioles numerous, in shape similar to basidia but smaller. Hyphidia arising from generative hyphae, nodulose, branched, colorless, thin-walled, 58–72.5 × 2.5–4 µm in diameter.

Sections of hymenium of Eichleriellabiluoxueshanensis (holotype CLZhao 34516): basidiospores (A); basidia (B); basidioles (C); cystidia (D); hyphidia (E); a section of the hymenium (F). Scale bars: 10 µm (A–F); 10 × 100.

Spores.

Basidiospores allantoid, colorless, thin-walled, smooth, usually with one or more oil drops, IKI–, CB–, (12–)13.5–17.5(–18) × (6.5–)7–9(–9.5) µm, L = 15.57 µm, W = 7.99 µm, Q = 1.95–2.06 (n = 60/2).

Additional specimen examined (paratype).

China. Yunnan Province • Diqing, Weixi County, Zhonglu, Lagaluo, GPS coordinates: 27°9′N, 99°8′E, altitude: 1710 m asl., on the fallen angiosperm branch, leg. C.L. Zhao, 10 October 2023, CLZhao 34793 (SWFC!).

Gloeohypochnicium

yunnanense

Taxon classificationFungiRussulalesGloeohypochnicium



L. Wang & C.L. Zhao sp. nov.

18083A14-BC5B-5C0A-AE73-0C1449626429

856961

Figs 15 , 16 , 17

Typification.

China. Yunnan Province • Dehong, Yingjiang County, Tongbiguan Provincial Nature Reserve, GPS coordinates: 25°50′N, 97°36′E, altitude: 1000 m asl., on the dead bamboo, leg. C.L. Zhao, 18 July 2023, CLZhao 30049 (SWFC!).

Etymology.

Yunnanense (Lat.) refers to the locality “Yunnan Province” of the holotype specimen.

Basidiomata.

Annual, resupinate, closely adnate, coriaceous, without odor or taste when fresh, up to 5 cm long, 3 cm wide, and 600 μm thick. Hymenophore smooth, slightly buff (4A4) when fresh, buff (4A4) to cream (4A2/3) upon drying. Sterile margin narrow, white (60) to buff (4A4), up to 1 mm.

Basidiomata of Gloeohypochniciumyunnanense (holotype CLZhao 30049). Scale bars: 1 cm (A); 1 mm (B).

Hyphal system.

Monomitic; generative hyphae with clamp connections, colorless, thick-walled, smooth, branched, interwoven, 1.5–4 µm in diameter; IKI–, CB–, tissues unchanged in KOH.

Microscopic structures of Gloeohypochniciumyunnanense (holotype CLZhao 30049): basidiospores (A); basidia and basidioles (B); cystidia (C); a section of the hymenium (D). Scale bars: 10 µm (A–D).

Hymenium.

Cystidia subcylindrical to subulate, flexuous, thin-walled, encrusted with whitish to yellowish crystals, 75–115.5 × 11.5–15 µm. Basidia subcylindrical to clavate, slightly flexuous, a basal clamp connection and four sterigmata, 55.5–70 × 9.5–11 µm; basidioles numerous, in shape similar to basidia but smaller.

Sections of hymenium of Gloeohypochniciumyunnanense (holotype CLZhao 30049): basidiospores (A); basidia (B); basidioles (C); gloeocystidia (D). Scale bars: 20 µm (A–D); 10 × 100.

Spores.

Basidiospores globose, colorless, thick-walled, warted, IKI–, CB–, (9.5–)10–12 × (9.5–)10–11.5 µm, L = 10.91 µm, W = 10.45 µm, Q = 1.04–1.05 (n = 60/2).

Additional specimen examined (paratype).

China. Yunnan Province • Dehong, Yingjiang County, Tongbiguan Provincial Nature Reserve, GPS coordinates: 27°52′N, 97°38′E, altitude: 1000 m asl., on dead bamboo, leg. C.L. Zhao, 18 July 2023, CLZhao 30018 (SWFC!).

Punctularia

nigrodontea

Taxon classificationFungiCorticialesPunctulariaceae



L. Wang & C.L. Zhao sp. nov.

374F9664-0CFA-54A3-9106-FB44261E2DDA

856962

Figs 18 , 19 , 20

Typification.

China. Yunnan Province • Dehong, Yingjiang County, Tongbiguan Provincial Nature Reserve, GPS coordinates: 25°50′N, 97°36′E, altitude: 1000 m asl., on the angiosperm trunk, leg. C.L. Zhao, 20 July 2023, CLZhao 30592 (SWFC!).

Etymology.

Nigrodontea (Lat.) refers to the new species having black basidiomata.

Basidiomata.

Annual, resupinate to effused-reflexed, adnate but easily separable, gelatinous, without odor or taste when fresh, up to 7 cm long, 3 cm wide, and 600 μm thick. Pileal surface smooth, rigid, fuscous (5/6F5) when fresh, fuscous (5/6F5) to black (51) upon drying; pileal back cushion-shaped grandinioid, rigid, black (51) when fresh, black (51) upon drying. Sterile margin narrow, black (51), up to 1 mm.

Basidiomata of Punctularianigrodontea (holotype CLZhao 30592). Scale bars: 1 cm (A, B); 1 mm (C, D).

Hyphal system.

Monomitic; generative hyphae clamp connections, colorless, thin to thick-walled, smooth, rarely branched, interwoven, 3–7 µm in diameter; IKI–, CB–, tissues unchanged in KOH.

Microscopic structures of Punctularianigrodontea (holotype CLZhao 30592): basidiospores (A); basidia and basidioles (B); a section of the hymenium (C). Scale bars: 10 µm (A–C).

Hymenium.

Cystidia absent. Basidia clavate, flexuous, with a basal clamp connection and four sterigmata, 16–25 × 3–4.5 µm; basidioles numerous, in shape similar to basidia but smaller.

Sections of hymenium of Punctularianigrodontea (holotype CLZhao 30592): basidiospores (A); basidia and basidioles (B); a section of thin-walled generative hyphae (C); a section of thick-walled generative hyphae (D). Scale bars: 10 µm (A–D); 10 × 100.

Spores.

Basidiospores ellipsoid, colorless, thin-walled, smooth, IKI–, CB–, 8.5–10(–10.5) × (4.5–)5–6(–6.5) µm, L = 9.24 µm, W = 5.47 µm, Q = 1.69 (n = 30/1).

Discussion

For fungal groups that are difficult to identify based on their morphological features, it is believed (and in most cases also proved) that the application of DNA sequences is able to delimit/recognize species much more easily and unequivocally (Wu et al. 2020; Bhunjun et al. 2024; He et al. 2022, 2024; Hyde et al. 2024a, b; Zhao et al. 2024; Zhou et al. 2024). Over time, understanding different aspects of fungi (i.e., taxonomy, diversity, species number) has improved rapidly by incorporating molecular and bioinformatics tools with traditional approaches (Cui et al. 2019; Wang et al. 2021; Hyde et al. 2023; Zhou et al. 2023; Dong et al. 2024a; Wang et al. 2024a; Wijayawardene et al. 2024).

Phylogenetically, the phylogenetic tree (Figs 1, 2) inferred from ITS+nLSU sequences revealed that the new species Conferticiumalbocremeum was nested into the family Stereaceae within the order Russulales, in which it was retrieved as a sister to C.heimii. However, C.heimii is distinguished from C.albocremeum by having a grayish orange hymenial surface and smaller basidiospores (5.3–6.2 × 3.5–4.2 µm; Wu 1996). Morphologically, C.fissuratum and C.ravum are similar to C.albocremeum by having finely verrucose, ellipsoid, and thin-walled basidiospores (Bernicchia and Gorjón 2010; Shen et al. 2024). However, C.fissuratum differs in its tuberculate, rough, white to cream, and cracking hymenial surface and longer subcylindrical cystidia (37–54.5 × 4–8 µm; Shen et al. 2024), and C.ravum differs in its smooth, brownish orange to grayish orange hymenial surface and bigger gloeocystidia (30–60 × 6–15 µm; Bernicchia and Gorjón 2010).

Phylogenetically, the multiple genes with ITS+nLSU analysis (Fig. 3) showed that the new species Dendrocorticiopsisluteoalba was nested into the family Punctulariaceae within the order Corticiales, and it is closely related with D.orientalis. Morphologically, D.luteoalba is similar to D.orientalis by having clavate apically with resinous cystidia and clavate to subclavate basidia (Wei et al. 2022). However, D.orientalis is delimited from D.luteoalba by its finely cracked, grayish ivory hymenial surface and smaller, ellipsoid to ovoid basidiospores (5–7 × 3.2–5.2 µm; Wei et al. 2022).

The phylogenetic tree (Figs 4, 5) inferred from ITS+nLSU sequences revealed that Eichleriellabiluoxueshanensis grouped into the genus Eichleriella and clustered into the family Auriculariaceae, in which it was grouped with the clade comprising E.sinensis. However, E.sinensis is distinguished from E.biluoxueshanensis by having narrower basidiospores (10.5–16 × 5.5–7 µm; Li et al. 2023). Morphologically, E.xinpingensis C.L. Zhao and E.yunnanensis Y.L. Deng & C.L. Zhao are similar to E.biluoxueshanensis by all having subcylindrical to allantoid, thin-walled, and smooth basidiospores (Liu et al. 2019; Deng et al. 2024a). However, E.xinpingensis differs in its soft, leathery to ceraceous, flesh-pink to clay-pink, and covered by blunt-pointed spines hymenial surface and shorter basidia (15–28 × 5–9 µm; Liu et al. 2019), and E.yunnanensis differs in its cream to flesh-pink hymenial surface and smaller basidiospores (7.5–11.5 × 3.5–5 µm; Deng et al. 2024a).

The phylogenetic tree (Fig. 1) inferred from ITS+nLSU sequences revealed that Gloeohypochniciumyunnanense grouped into the genus Gloeohypochnicium and clustered into the order Russulales, in which it was closely related to G.analogum. Morphologically, G.yunnanense is similar to G.analogum in that it has subglobose, thick-walled, and warted basidiospores (Bernicchia and Gorjón 2010). However, G.analogum is delimited from G.yunnanense by its coriaceous, cream to ochraceous hymenial surface with a fibrillose margin and smaller gloeocystidia (40–60 × 6–10 µm; Bernicchia and Gorjón 2010).

Based on the ITS+nLSU sequence data (Fig. 3), Punctularianigrodontea was nested into the family Punctulariaceae within the order Corticiales and grouped with the clade comprising P.atropurpurascens, P.bambusicola, and P.strigosozonata. Morphologically, P.nigrodontea is similar to P.atropurpurascens, P.bambusicola, and P.strigosozonata by having smooth, thin-walled, and ellipsoid basidiospores (Bernicchia and Gorjón 2010; Guan et al. 2021). However, P.atropurpurascens is delimited from P.nigrodontea by having the effuse-reflexed and reddish-brown to dark purplish-brown or bluish hymenial surface and larger basidia (40–65 × 5–6 µm; Guan et al. 2021). Punctulariabambusicola differs in its resupinate, tuberculate with rose tints, pink to purple hymenial surface, and smaller basidiospores (6.5–8.5 × 3.5–5 µm; Guan et al. 2021). Punctulariastrigosozonata differs in its resupinate to effuse-reflexed basidiomata with a brown, velutinous margin and longer basidia (40–60 × 4–5 µm; Bernicchia and Gorjón 2010).

Fungi are an ancient, diverse, and heterogeneous group of organisms; they can be found in a wide range of habitats, and play key roles in ecosystems as decomposers, mutualists, and pathogens (Dai et al. 2015, 2021; Cui et al. 2023; Wei 2021; Bhunjun et al. 2022). The Yunnan Province is rich in woody plant species, providing excellent substrates for wood-inhabiting fungi (Dong et al. 2023, 2024a; Wang and Cai 2023; Deng et al. 2024b; Wang et al. 2024b; Zhu et al. 2024). Our study is helpful to further understand the species diversity of wood-inhabiting fungal groups in Yunnan and explore their evolutionary relationships.

Supplementary Material

XML Treatment for Conferticium albocremeum

XML Treatment for Dendrocorticiopsis luteoalba

XML Treatment for Eichleriella biluoxueshanensis

XML Treatment for Gloeohypochnicium yunnanense

XML Treatment for Punctularia nigrodontea