The checklist of edible and medicinal fungi from National Park of Hainan Tropical Rainforest was compiled based on systematic investigation, species identification, and review of literature and databases. The scientific name and Chinese name of all hitherto known species were provided. A total of 529 species has been found in National Park of Hainan Tropical Rainforest, of which 366 species are edible, and 316 medicinal. The 366 edible species refer to 122 genera and 53 families, of which 7 species belong to ascomycetes and 359 basidiomycetes. The highest species richness was found in Russulaceae (62 species) and Boletaceae (55 species), accounting for about 16.94% and 15.03% of the total species, respectively. The genera with more than 10 species include Russula, Agaricus, Lactarius, Phylloporus, Amanita, Pleurotus, Suillus, and Auricularia. The 316 medicinal species refer to 146 genera and 69 families, of which 20 species belong to ascomycetes and 296 basidiomycetes. The highest species richness was found in Russulaceae (33 species) and Polyporaceae (26 species), accounting for about 10.44% and 8.23% of the total species, respectively. The genera with more than 8 species include Russula, Ganoderma, Agaricus, Pleurotus, Lactarius, and Scleroderma. The present study provides scientific basis for the protection, development and utilization of edible and medicinal macrofungal resources in this tropical area.

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.

The ancient camphor forest in Niutian Town, Le’an County, Jiangxi Province, is well known as ‘the first ancient camphor forest in China’, having more than 3 000 ancient camphor trees dating from 100 to 1 200 years, and it is listed as a national ecological public welfare forest for protection. To explore the mycorrhizal types and the species diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in the ancient camphor trees with different tree ages, root tissue staining, AM fungal spore separation, and microscopic morphological observation were carried out. The results show that the main type of camphor tree mycorrhiza was AM with characteristic arbuscular and vesicle structures, intermixed with a small amount of DSE (dark septate endophytic) symbiotic fungi with dark septate mycelia and microsclerotia in root cells. Totally 15 species belonging to 8 genera of 5 families of AM fungi were identified from the rhizosphere soil samples of ancient camphor trees covering 100, 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1 200 years. Among them, Glomus flavisporum and G. melanosporum were the most widely distributed species. The colonizing rate of AM fungi in roots and the amount of AM fungal spores in the rhizosphere soil showed a decreasing trend with the increase of tree age. The probability is that these AM fungi have long been symbiotically associated with the 1 000-year-old camphor trees, and they play an important ecological function in maintaining the healthy growth of the ancient camphor forest.

Cup-fungi refer to a group of non-lichenized fungi whose basidiomata appear disc-shaped. This group has a wide range of habitats, diverse species, in addition to various ecological types. The Chongzuo region is a typical representative area of the southwest Karst in Guangxi and rich in biodiversity resources. However, there is a lack of research on the cup-fungal resources and their diversity status in this region. In this study White-headed Langur Nature Reserve, Nonggang Nature Reserve, and Qinglongshan Nature Reserve in the southwest Karst region of Guangxi (hereinafter simplified as “the areas”) were selected as the research areas to investigate the diversity of cup-fungi. In total, 523 specimens of cup-fungi were collected, and 34 species belonging to 8 families and 15 genera were identified using morphological and molecular biology methods. The Shannon diversity index and Simpson diversity index of cup-fungi in the areas both trended towards Nonggang>White-headed Langur Reserve>Qinglongshan, while the evenness index was highest in the White-headed Langur Reserve. The Margalef richness index ranked as Nonggang>Qinglongshan>White-headed Langur Reserve. The plate confrontation culture and fermentation broth crude extract method were used to screen the strains with biocontrol potential. As a result, three antagonistic strains were screened from the anamorphic strains. Among them, Bloxamia discedens S0161 exhibited the strongest inhibitory effect against Neoscytalidium dimidiatum, with an inhibition rate of 88.8%. Additionally, two strains of Mollisia peruni, QLD011 and QLD012, had significant inhibitory effects on Cladobotryum protrusum. The antifungal properties of the ethyl acetate extract of the fermentation broth revealed that S0161 had a significant inhibitory effect, QLD012 took second place, whereas QLD011 revealed no significant inhibitory effect. The results will be based for development and utilization of cup-fungi and the screening of antagonistic fungi for biocontrol purpose.

Macrofungal germplasm resources are an important part of the construction of national germplasm banks. A wild fungal strain collected from Baishanzu National Nature Reserve was isolated and purified, and it was identified as Bondarzewia dickinsii by morphology and ITS sequence analysis. The effects of different carbon sources, nitrogen sources, pH, temperature and illumination on the mycelium growth under solid culture conditions were studied by cross streaking method. Three optimal levels were selected from the above four single factor experiments for orthogonal test. The results showed that the optimal carbon source was starch; the optimal nitrogen source was yeast extract; the optimal pH was 7.0, and the optimal temperature was 25 °C. The fruiting bodies of Bondarzewia dickinsii were obtained by domestication and cultivation, and the content of crude polysaccharide, crude protein, and 16 amino acids in the fruiting bodies were determined. The total polysaccharide content is as high as 37.29 g/100 g, and the crude protein content 24.9 g/100 g. This study provides a reference for the further research and development of this fungus.

The population genetic structure and genetic diversity of Phlebopus portentosus germplasm resources of 53 samples from 9 regions in southern China were identified by using rDNA ITS and SSR molecular markers. The results showed that all 53 samples were Phlebopus portentosus, and the similarity of their ITS sequences was 92.09%. In total, 252 polymorphic loci were successfully amplified by 28 pairs of SSR primers, with each pair exhibiting 48-53 amplification sites and the polymorphism rate exceeding 90%. The Nei’s genetic diversity index and Shannon’s diversity index were determined to be 0.371 6-0.605 1 and 0.327 3-0.584 5, respectively. At the population level, Nei’s genetic diversity index and Shannon’s diversity index were 0.097 3-0.237 0 and 0.142 0-0.358 6, respectively, and the polymorphism rate was 23.48%-74.09%, indicating abundant genotypes within populations. The average genetic differentiation coefficient and gene flow between populations were 0.282 0 and 1.273 2 respectively, indicating a low degree of genetic differentiation and gene exchange. The genetic similarity coefficient of the UPGMA cluster ranged from 0.67 to 0.89, and the 53 samples could be divided into 3 groups at the level of 0.72, showing basically consistent with the results of the PCoA principal component analysis, the Mantel test and the STRUCTURE clustering. The application of population structure analysis enabled the division of samples into 8 genetic components, with subgroup 2 being identified as the most abundant in terms of genotypes. AMOVA analysis revealed that 90% of the observed genetic variation could be ascribed to within-population genetic factors. The tested population of Phlebopus portentosus exhibited a substantial number of genotypes, a moderate degree of genetic differentiation, and impeded gene exchange.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder characterized by specific clinical manifestations of eczema, accompanied by intense pruritus and scratching, which can lead to the disruption of the skin barrier and subsequently induce microbial infections. Lack of understanding diversity of fungal infections and incomplete comprehension of the clinical manifestations of fungal infections during the occurrence and progression of AD as well as improper drug treatments may lead to misdiagnosis and incorrect therapeutic approaches. This article systematically summarizes the types of pathogens causing skin fungal infections in AD patients, including common fungi such as Malassezia, Trichophyton and Candida and rare fungi such as Pseudallescheria and Xanthothecium, aiming to comprehensively understand the impact of fungal infections of the skin and its structures on the occurrence, development and prognosis of AD.

Jiejin Mountain National Forest Park located in northeastern Heilongjiang Province is abundant in biological resources. Up to the present the macrofungal resources in the area is still uncertain. In this work, random inspection method was used to explore the macrofungal resources of the area. Identification of the specimens was carried out on the basis of morphology combined with molecular biology methods. Relevant literature was consulted to evaluate the economic value of the fungi. The results indicate that there are 209 species of macrofungi in this forest park, belonging to 2 phyla, 5 classes, 19 orders, 63 families, and 111 genera. Of these 72, 52, 32 and 30 are respectively edible, medicinal, ectomycorrhizal and poisonousing, accounting for 34.45%, 24.88%, 15.31%, 14.35% of the total respectively. Seventy-two species cause rot decay and 78 species have other values, accounting for 34.45% and 37.32% of the total respectively. The dominant families having more than 10 species each were Amanitaceae, Mycenaceae, Polyporaceae, and Russulaceae. The dominant genera each containing more than 5 species were Amanita, Inocybe, Laccaria, Marasmius, Mycena, Pluteus, Russula and Trametes. Most of these fungi are cosmopolitan and boreal-temperate. One species is found to be endangered, one vulnerable and two nearly threatened. There are two Chinese endemic species.

Fusarium circinatum, F. tucumaniae, F. virguliforme and five formae speciales of F. oxysporum have been included in the “List of Quarantine Pests of Import Plants in the People’s Republic of China” in 2007. This article aims at revising the scientific names of these species and formae speciales in accordance with the current taxonomic system of the genus Fusarium and related genera in Nectriaceae. It is suggested that the Chinese name for the causal agent of pine pitch canker is revised as huan zhuang lian bao (环状镰孢). The Chinese and scientific names of the oil palm wilt pathogen are revised as you zong lian bao (油棕镰孢) and F. elaeidis. It has been clarified that the pathogens responsible for South American soybean sudden death syndrome, F. tucumaniae, and North American soybean sudden death syndrome, F. virguliforme, are the same species in the genus Neocosmospora, and the Chinese name and scientific name are now revised as cai dou xin chi qiao (菜豆新赤壳) and N. phaseoli, respectively. Additionally, this study indicates that the pathogens responsible for the banana wilt (race 4 and non-Chinese race), celery wilt, asparagus wilt, and strawberry wilt are not monophyletic, suggesting the necessity for taxonomic revisions of these formae speciales of F. oxysporum. These updates are references for future revisions and renewal of the quarantine pest lists.

Based on systematic resource investigation, species identification, and literature arrangement, the checklist of poisonous mushrooms in Beijing was complied. The poisonous mushrooms were classified according to the poisoning type. Scientific name, Chinese name, and references of each poisonous mushroom are provided. By 2023, 130 poisonous mushrooms have been found in Beijing, causing five known damage types. However, there are still some poisoning types difficult to confirm. The most toxic mushrooms to be concerned are Amanita subjunquillea and Lepiota brunneoincarnata, which can cause acute liver failure, as well as Amanita oberwinklerana, which can lead to acute renal failure.

The Shaluli Mountains are located in the central part of the Hengduan Mountains, southwest China. This is an area with wide ranges of altitudes and vertical distributions of vegetations. Macrofungal resources in this area are rich due to its diverse climate, varied topography, and diverse vegetation types. A three-year survey of macrofungal species diversity in the Shaluli Mountains was conducted to explore fundamental data on macrofungal resources in the region. The survey area includes eight nature reserves, and eight counties. In total, 3 633 specimens were collected. The specimens were identified by DNA barcode sequencing combined with morphological examination and phylogenesis of some taxa was analysed. In the study, 503 species were identified, and they belong to 19 orders, 73 families and 162 genera. Among them, 395 species were newly recorded in the Shaluli Mountains and 18 species were newly recorded in China. There were 14 families containing more than 10 species, including Russulaceae, Cortinariaceae, Amanitaceae, Pluteaceae, Tricholomataceae, Inocybaceae, Agaricaceae, etc. There were 18 genera containing more than 5 species, including Cortinarius, Russula, Lactarius, Amanita, Tricholoma, etc. Cosmopolitan, north temperate, and pan-tropical genera account for 56.7%, 37.6%, and 4.9% of the total number of known genera, respectively. The resource evaluation showed that 60 species were edible, 54 simultaneously edible and medicinal, 20 medicinal, and 79 poisonous, showing increase of 50, 38, 9 and 62 species, respectively as compared with the previous record. Our study provides reference material for the conservation, utilization and management of macrofungal resources in the region.

The delimitation between Conocybe and Pholiotina was ambiguous and controversial. Based on examination of specimens and literature, the taxonomic characteristics of these two genera were illustrated and explor their subgeneric classification was defined. At present, there are 37 species of Conocybe and 18 species of Pholiotina in China. In the Conocybe, there are 3 species of sect. Candidae, 1 of sect. Ochromarasmius, 10 of sect. Pilosellae, 17 of sect. Conocybe and 6 of sect. Mixtae. Among them, sect. Pilosellae harbors 3 new Chinese records, namely Conocybe velutipes, C. moseri and C. bisporigera; sect. Conocybe contains 2 new Chinese records, namely C. echinata and C. brachypodii. In the Pholiotina, there are 2 species of sect. Verrucisporae, 2 of sect. Intermediae, 6 of sect. Pholiotina, 3 of sect. Vestitae, 2 of sect. Cyanopodae and 3 of sect. Piliferae. Among them, Pholiotina dasypus was a new Chinese record in sect. Verrucisporae. Ph. serrata was proposed as a new combination in sect. Vestitae. Ph. cyanopus is a new Chinese record in sect. Cyanopodae, and Ph. coprophila was a new Chinese record in sect. Piliferae. Keys to the sections and species of Conocybe and Pholiotina from China are compiled, and the morphological descriptions and line drawings of newly recorded species are provided. Phylogenetic trees based on ITS1, 5.8S and ITS2 sequences are used to show the possible evolutionary relationships among the fungal taxa.

Penicillium species are ubiquitous in nature and mainly saprophytic or parasitic on plants causing penicilliosis. Few of them can infect healthy humans with normal immunity. With the increase of patients with immune deficiency in recent years, more and more cases of mankind penicilliosis with a variety of clinical types have been reported. It is not easy for clinicians to make an accurate diagnosis of penicilliosis if they are unfamiliar with these fungi. This retrospective paper are based on related literature in Medline and Chinese Literature Database, concerning pathogenic species, regional distribution, risk factors, clinical manifestations, drug sensitivity, diagnosis and treatment of penicilliosis. In total, 20 species of pathogenetic Penicillium were reported currently, including Penicillium bicolor, P. bertai, P. brevicompactum, P. casei, P. citrinum, P. chrysogenum, P. commune, P. crustaceum, P. cyclopium, P. citreonigrum, P. capsulatum, P. decumbens, P. digitatum, P. emersonii, P. glaucum, P. janthinellum, P. lilanicum, P. purpurogenum, P. roqueforti and P. spinulosum. The clinical manifestation includes pulmonary infection, peritonium infection, endophthalmitis, endocarditis, central nervous system infection, keratitis, fungemia, urinary tract infection, otitis, esophagitis, paravertebral infection, periprosthetic joint infection, nasosinusitis, disseminated infection, skin infection, onychomycosis and so on. They can also cause a variety of allergic diseases as allergens. Clinical isolates of Penicillium spp. are generally sensitive to echinocandins, moderately resistant to amphotericin B, and posaconazole is the most sensitive azoles. This article aims at providing reference for a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of penicilliosis and clinical diagnosis concerned.

Sanghuang, as a group of medicinal macrofungi recorded in ancient Chinese traditional medicine books, has many functions such as anti-tumor, reduction of blood suger, reduction of blood fat, anti-oxidation, and reduction of uric acid. Modern taxonomic studies have shown that sanghuang has high species diversity and widely distributed in different areas of China and other areas of north Hemisphere, growing in mulberry, poplar, clove, honeysuckle, northeast China ash, jujube, walnut and other broad-leaved trees. Sanghuang have been artificially cultivated in China since 1990s, and the species used for cultivation are mainly Sanghuangporus sanghuang, S. vaninii, S. baumii, and Inonotus hispidus. The scale of the sanghuang industry is progressively expanding, forming a health industry with high economic value and social benefits. In this paper, we summarized the current status of sanghuang industry in China, relating to the historical record, the change of classification status, the functional researches, production development, bottleneck problems and countermeasures. The problems existing in sanghuang industry development, and some recommendations for its future development in China are proposed.

In the past 50 years, consistent efforts towards publication of Flora Fungorum Sinicorum have been made by generations of fungal taxonomists in China. Among the 65 published volumes of the Flora, 35 volumes are on different groups of Ascomycota, 26 ones on Basidiomycota, one on Zygomycota, one on Oomycota and two on slime molds. Fungal resources recorded in these volumes are saprophytes, edible and medicinal fungi, mycorrhizae, phytopathogens, predatory, entomogenous and fungicolous fungi, as well as poisonous mushrooms. In future researches, attentions should be paid to the following groups: saprolegnialean species and related oomycetes, chytrids, some families in Dothidiomycetes, Pezizomycetes and Leotiomycetes, taxa possessing small fruitbodies in Agariomycetes, and so forth. Due to the changes of fungal taxonomy, phylogeny and nomenclature in recent years, names and taxonomic positions of some taxa appeared in the early volumes of the Flora may need to be revised timely.

In recent years, over 500 mushroom poisoning incidents involving more than 2 000 patients and ca. 30 deaths yearly have raised Yunnan as the most severe province of mushroom poisoning in China. Comprehensive investigation on species diversity of poisonous mushrooms causing poisoning incidents is urgently needed for precise prevention and control of mushroom poisoning. Based on species identification of 223 poisoning incidents in Yunnan since 2013, we found that mushroom poisoning occurred throughout the year, especially from June to September, and poisoning incidents and patients peaked in July while deaths peaked in June. Geographically, poisoning occurred in 14 prefectures and Dehong, Yuxi, Baoshan, Chuxiong and Pu’er ranked the top five, which were located in central to southern Yunnan. Forty-seven poisonous mushrooms were identified, causing six different clinical syndromes (acute liver failure, acute renal failure, rhabdomyolysis, gastroenteritis, psycho-neurological disorder and photosensitive dermatitis). Of which, 16 species originally described from China and three Chinese new records were published since 2019. Amanita exitialis and Russula subnigricans were most poisonous and dangerous in Yunnan, resulting in 19 deaths and 9 deaths, respectively. Chlorophyllum molybdites, R. japonica, Scleroderma cepa, Entoloma omiense and Omphalotus olearius were the top five species causing gastroenteritis. Gymnopilus dilepis, Inosperma cf. virosum and Lanmaoa asiatica monopolized the top positions resulting in psycho-neurological disorder and Cordierites frondosus was the only one species so far causing photosensitive dermatitis in Yunnan Province.

Cordyceps, in general terms, comprises a group of ascomycetous fungi parasitizing insects, some fungi and plants. The practice of using cordyceps as traditional medicine has a long history and can be traced to several centuries ago, and production of cordyceps products has currently become a big industry in China. Medicament, health foods and food additives have been developed from natural and cultivated fruit bodes of Ophiocordyceps sinensis, Cordyceps militaris, Isaria cicadae and some other cordyceps and their fermented mycelia. In this paper, we summarize the current status of cordyceps industry in China relating to history, production development, function and market. The major challenges existing in the current industry are discussed and some recommendations for the future development of cordyceps industry in China are proposed.

435 poisonous mushrooms from China were enumerated in this article by literature survey and specimens inspection. All of Latin names and Chinese names were checked or revised. Latin names were revised. The toxic ingredients and poisoning type were listed for each species, and the original or relevant references were provided.

The polypores treated in the present list are in wide sense (sensu lato), including the poroid species in Polyporales, Hymenochaetales, Gloeophyllales, Trechisporales, Corticiales, Thelephorales and Russulales, and a few poroid genera of Agaricales, Atheliales, Cantharellales and Auriculariales (e.g. Dictyopanus, Favolaschia, Elmerina, Fistulina and Protomerulius). Based on more than 10 000 collected specimens and other poroid specimens of aphyllophoraceus fungi in the main mycological herbaria in China, the knowledge of Chinese polypores is summarized, and 604 species are recorded in the country so far. All of the polypore names were checked or revised in accordance with the contemporary taxonomy and the latest version of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (Vienna Code). 121 new Chinese names are proposed.