First Confirmed Record of Ganoderma gibbosum on Three New Hosts in India Based on Morphology and Phylogeny

ABSTRACT Ganoderma gibbosum is a wood‐decaying basidiomycete with a complex taxonomic history and has been inconsistently reported from India, often without adequate morphological or molecular verification. In the present study, G. gibbosum is confirmed from India on three previously unreported hosts— Acrocarpus fraxinifolius , Morus alba and Cupaniopsis anacardioides —based on detailed macro‐ and micromorphological examinations and phylogenetic analyses of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses consistently resolved the newly collected Indian specimens within a clade comprising authenticated G. gibbosum specimens from Asia, including India, China, Japan and Korea. These findings clarify the taxonomic status of G. gibbosum in India and substantially expand its known host range and geographic distribution.