Wood-inhabiting fungi can decompose lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose, and play an integral role in the material cycle of forest ecosystems. In this study, a wood-inhabiting polypore collected from Yunnan Province, southwest China is introduced as a new genus typified by Porphyrostereum punctatum. The new genus Porphyrostereum is characterized by corticioid basidiomata with smooth, cream to slightly buff, cracked and becoming purplish pink or pinkish purple hymenial surface, a monomitic hyphal system and generative hyphae bearing clamp connections, and ellipsoid basidiospores. The phylogenetic analyses were performed with maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods based on ITS+nLSU nuclear RNA gene regions. Phylogenetic analyses showed that Porphyrostereum forms a monophyletic lineage within the order Polyporales in which it is closely related to Purpureocorticium.

A new lichen species from China, Physcia grumosa, is reported. The species is indentified by morph-anatomical and chemical analyses, and a phylogenetic tree based on rDNA-ITS sequences is constructed. Detailed descriptions and morphological illustrations are provided. P. grumosa is characterized by its grayish-white foliose thallus and lobes narrow and short; lobe tips with brown moderately dense cilia 2-4 mm long; upper surface with obvious white maculae, covered with numerous globular isidia; disc black, asci hyaline, 50-80 × 16.25-21.25 μm, 8-spored, asci tholus I+ yellow; brown ascospores 23.75-28 × 13.75-16.25 μm, 1-septate, Physica-type.

The species and ecological diversity of macrofungi in the Jingdong area of Ailao Mountain National Nature Reserve were investigated. Systematic field surveys and specimen collection in the area were conducted during August 2022 and July 2024. Utilizing morphological and molecular biological methods, comprehensive identifications of the collected specimens together with accumulative specimens in the past two decades were performed. In-depth statistical analyses focusing on species composition, floristic geographical components, resource evaluation, and newly recorded species were complemented. In total, 312 fungal species were documented in the region, encompassing 2 phyla, 7 classes, 22 orders, 66 families, and 131 genera. Among these, 27 species are edible, 13 medicinal, 5 both culinary and medicinal, and 23 poisonous. The dominant families include Russulaceae, Boletaceae, Omphalotaceae, Cortinariaceae, Amanitaceae, Hygrophoraceae, Entolomataceae, Mycenaceae, and Polyporaceae. The dominant genera cover Russula, Cortinarius, Amanita, Lactarius, Mycena, Gymnopus, Entoloma, Helvella, Hygrocybe, Collybiopsis, Xerocomus, and Laccaria. The cosmopolitan (57.25% of the total species), north temperate (29.77%), pantropic (9.92%), and East Asian fungi (3.05%) are predominant. Three species previously unrecorded in China are documented and one new species is decribed. Fungal communities within this ecological niche is in need of further research.

Two crustose lichen species of Acarospora are reported as new to science based on the comprehensive data of morphological, anatomical, and chemical characteristics, combined with the phylogenetic analyses inferred from tri-locus sequences of the nuclear ribosome internal transcriptional spacer (ITS), the mitochondrial small subunit (mtSSU), and the nuclear ribosome large subunit (nrLSU). Acarospora aenea is mainly characterized by rust-colored upper surface, immersed apothecia, black and epruinose disc, thick upper cortex, and large ascospores (4-6.5 × 2.5-3.5 µm); whereas Acarospora turpanensis is characterized by its reddish brown to whitish brown upper surface with pruina, uneven algal layer, and its narrowly ellipsoid ascospores with perispore. The assemble species by automatic partitioning (ASAP) analysis of ITS sequence alignment data also supports the recognition of the new species.

Three new wood-rotting fungi Peniophorella growing on Pinus yunnanensis in southwestern China, Peniophorella euryhypha, Peniophorella pinicola and Peniophorella stellata, are described based on morphology and phylogeny. They all have annual resupinate basidiomata with smooth, white to cream hymenophore and clavate to cylindrical leptocystidia without resinous matter. P. euryhypha is characterized by simple septate subicular hyphae 7.5-9.5 μm wide and broadly clavate to sphaeropedunculate cystidia, narrowly ellipsoid basidiospores 9.3-11 × 3-4.3 μm. P. pinicola is characterized by encrusted hyphae and bowl-shaped stephanocysts and thick-walled cystidia, oblong-ellipsoid basidiospores 5.5-8 × 3.2-5 µm. P. stellata is characterized by leptocystidia and sometimes hyphidia encrusted with rosette-like crystals in subhymenium and hymenium, and oblong-ellipsoid basidiospores 8-10 × 3.5-5 µm. In addition, Peniophorella cremea is considered as a synonym of Hyphoderma transiens. A key to Chinese species of Peniophorella is provided.

Wood-decaying fungi play crucial roles as decomposers in forest ecosystems. In this study, two new Lopharia species from Yunnan Province in southwest China, Lopharia minispora and Lopharia punctata, are described and illustrated based on the morphological and molecular evidence. L. minispora is characterized by its slightly brown and cracked basidiomata when dry, a monomitic hyphal system with clamp connections, and oblong-ellipsoid basidiospores measuring 5.5-6.7 × 2.7-3.3 µm; L. punctata is characterized by its membranous, white to cream basidiomata, a monomitic hyphal system with simple-septa on generative hyphae and subglobose to globose basidiospores measuring 9.5-12 × 7.5-10.1 µm. Sequences of ITS and nLSU rDNA markers of the studied samples were employed, and phylogenetic analyses were performed with maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference methods, ensuring the reliability of our findings. The dataset analyses showed that the two new species clustered into the genus Lopharia, in which L. minispora was sister of Lopharia erubescens; L. punctata grouped with the lineage of Lopharia ayresii and Lopharia resupinata.

Based on morphology and phylogenetic analyses, a new species, Efibula candidissima, is described from Bawangling, National Park of Hainan Tropical Rainforest. The basidiomata are resupinate, waxy, snow white when fresh, white to cream and soft corky to fragile when dry, with distinct snow white rhizomorph at margin. Hymenophore surface are smooth, and the clamp connections are absent. Ellipsoid to oblong-ellipsoid basidiospores measure 4.8-5.8 × 3.3-4 μm. This species is distributed in tropical forest in southern China.

Coniophora is a widely distributed genus that includes species with resupinate basidiomata causing brown rot on fallen trees. In this study, two new species, Coniophora granulosa and Coniophora hainanensis, are described from Hainan Province based on molecular and morphological evidence. C. granulosa is characterized by having coriaceous basidiomata with granulose and light orange to grayish-orange hymenophore, relatively large and ellipsoid basidiospores measuring 12.5-14.2 × 8.2-9.5 μm. C. hainanensis is characterized by having membranaceous basidiomata with smooth and grayish-orange to brownish orange hymenophore and fimbriate margin, and oblong-ellipsoid basidiospores measuring 9.8-12.2 × 5.2-6.5 μm. Descriptions and illustrations are provided for the two new species.

Hainan Province is situated at the northern edge of the Asian tropics, serving as China’s only tropical province. The province harbors exceptional biodiversity due to its unique geography and climate, particularly in fungal diversity. However, previous mycological surveys in Hainan are predominantly focused on central forested regions, while coastal ecosystems are largely overlooked. This study reports the first discovery of the genus Calocybella in China, with one new species and one new record for China collected from coastal Casuarina forests. Calocybella hainanensis sp. nov. is characterized by its ginger-yellow to yellowish-brown pileus, pale yellow lamellae, and small, oblong-ellipsoid basidiospores (4.9-5.5 × 2.3-3.1 µm) with faint ornamentation and inamyloid reaction. The newly recorded species, Calocybella sribuabanensis, exhibits gregarious growth, yellowish-brown pileus, densely arranged lamellae, and ellipsoid, faintly ornamented, inamyloid basidiospores. Phylogenetic analyses based on ITS sequences reveal that C. hainanensis forms a unique evolutionary lineage within Calocybella, but it shows unresolved affinities to other taxa. C. sribuabanensis forms a sister lineage with the Indian species Calocybella dicholamellata.

Elaeocarpus decipiens is an important economic and medicinal tree species in southern China. Species of Diaporthales often exist as phytopathogens or endophytes, however, the fungal diversity associated with Elaeocarpus decipiens is not comprehensively known. Four representative strains of Diaporthales were isolated from E. decipiens leaves in Qiongzhou, Hainan. Morphological and multi-locus (ITS, LSU, TEF1-α, TUB, RPB2) molecular analyses were used to identify these isolates. As a result, two new species, Melanconiella qiongzhouensis and Lasmenia hainanensis, were discovered. It is the first report on species of Diaporthales on E. decipiens.

A new species of Phyllobaeis, P. subcrustacea, was identified by methods of morphology, anatomy, chemistry, and phylogenetic analysis based on combination of sequences of the internal transcriptional spacer (ITS), the large ribosome subunit (nuLSU), and the small mitochondrial subunit (mtSSU). It is characterized by the crustose thallus with clear schizidia; light reddish brown to dark brown apothecia with circinate, flat or sunken discs, obvious margin, unconspicuous podetia; simple or septate paraphyses; long-clavate asci, 8-spored, with apex I-; ascospores are ovoid to fusiform, hyaline, simple or 1-septate, I-. The type specimen was produced in Zhejiang Province, China. In this paper, phenotypic description and characteristic photos of the new species are provided, and a key of known species of Phyllobaeis is also provided.

Haasiella is a rare genus in Hygrophoraceae, which includes only two species reported from Europe thus far, H. venustissima and H. splendidissima. Based on studies of phylogeny and morphology, eight specimens collected from Liancheng Nature Reserve, Gansu Province, western China were confirmed as a new species in genus Haasiella and named as H. sinensis. This species is morphologically similar to European species in having small basidiomata with pale orange umbilicate pileus and metachromatic spores distinctly red in cresyl blue. However, H. sinensis is different in having tetrasterigmatic, sometimes monosterigmatic or bisterigmatic basidia in the same fruitbody; clamp connections present throughout the secondary mycelium and the fungus grows on soil humus in the forest.

Cetraspora huaxica, a new species of Cetraspora (Diversisporales, Glomeromycotina), was isolated from rhizosphere soil of Chimonobambusa utilis in Huaxi District of Guiyang City, China. It forms hyaline spores 187-361×210-378 μm on pale yellow to pale yellow brown sporogenous cells. The germination shields are hyaline to pale yellow brown with multiple (4-8) lobes; the spores have three walls: a triple-layered outer wall (OWL1-3), a bi-layered middle wall (MWL1-2) and a triple-layered inner wall (IWL1-3), of which the OWL2 and IWL3 stain deep pink to bright red-brown when exposed in Melzer’s reagent. Phylogenetic analyses based on the sequences of nuclear rDNA (spanning the partial small subunit, whole internal transcribed spacer, and partial large subunit segment; SSU-ITS-LSU) indicate that this species belongs to the genus Cetraspora and forms an independent clade. Detailed descriptions of the new taxon and a comparison with its phylogenetically related taxa are provided.

Based on morphological and molecular data, a new species Sanghuangporus mongolicus T. Bau sp. nov. is described from Horqin sandy land, Inner Mongolia. Morphologically, it is characterized by perennial, semicircular basidiomata with thin edges, a dimitic hyphal system, and elliptic to broadly elliptic, thick-walled basidiospores measuring 4.2-5×2.7-3.5 μm. The ITS and nrLSU phylogeny shows that Sanghuangporus mongolicus belongs to Sanghuangporus and forms an independent clade. Illustrated description and taxonomic discussion of this new species is given.

Endocarpon and Placidium are important components of Verrucariaceae. A taxonomic study on these two genera based on phenotypic characters and molecular data demonstrates one species new to science, Placidium patellare, and three species new to China, Endocarpon adsurgens, E. neopallidulum, and E. rogersii. Detailed descriptions and feature photos of these taxa are provided.