Thirty new species in Thelephorales and Hymenochaetales from the Eastern Himalayas and Southern China

Corticioid and hydnoid fungi play crucial roles in forest ecosystems, particularly in wood degradation and the formation of symbiotic relationships with plants, and exhibit extremely high species diversity in China. However, the taxonomic and phylogenetic relationships among taxa of corticioid and hydnoid fungi remain insufficiently understood. In this study, an extensive survey and sampling was conducted for Thelephorales and Hymenochaetales in subtropical and southern temperate forests of China. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, along with the large and small subunit nuclear ribosomal RNA genes (nLSU and nSSU), were used to identify the species and analyze the phylogenetic relationships within different genera, and complemented by a small subunit of mitochondrial rRNA gene sequences (mtSSU) for the genus Thelephora. Morphological and molecular analyses revealed 30 new species across ten genera of Thelephorales and Hymenochaetales. The novel species described in this paper include Hydnellum carnosum, Hyd. hydrangeoides, Hyd. infundibuliforme, Hyd. liantaishanense, Hyd. porphyreum, Hyd. testaceum, Hyd. tomentosum, Hymenochaete baishanzuensis, Lyomyces membranaceus, Neosarcodon atroviolaceus, N. bambusicola, Odontia kunmingensis, Peniophorella alba, Phellodon albospinus, Ph. zonatus, Sarcodon squamulosus, Thelephora angusta, T. bomiensis, T. cacao, T. chayuensis, T. fasciculata, T. latihypha, T. linzhiensis, T. longicystidiata, T. microcarpa, T. nanyigouensis, T. nigromarginata, T. scopiformis, Xylodon albus, and X. bicystidiatus. Descriptions and illustrations of these newly proposed species are provided, along with notes discussing their distinguishing characters and those of their allied taxa in this paper. Additionally, the delimitation and diversity of these taxa in terms of morphology, ecology, and phylogeny are explored. Three keys to the species of Hydnellum, resupinate and upright Thelephora from China are provided.