Phaeoclavulina yunnanensis W.H. Lu., D.G. Zheng., Karun. & Tibpromma., 2024

Zheng, De-Ge, Lu, Wen-Hua, Han, Mei-Yan, Elgorban, Abdallah M., Yang, Jing-Ya, Zhou, Yuan-Qing, Suwannarach, Nakarin, Tibpromma, Saowaluck & Karunarathna, Samantha C., 2024, Morphology and phylogeny reveal a new ramarioid species of Phaeoclavulina (Gomphaceae, Basidiomycota) from Yunnan Province, China, Phytotaxa 670 (2), pp. 109-118 : 113

Phaeoclavulina yunnanensis W.H. Lu., D.G. Zheng., Karun. & Tibpromma. , sp. nov. FIGURE 2

Index Fungorum number: IF 902645

Etymology: “Yunnanensis ” refers to Yunnan Province where the holotype was first collected.

Holotype: HKAS 127150

Basidiomata medium, (28–) 30–60 (–63) × (9–) 10–20 (–21) mm, humicolous, gregarious to solitary, erect, the overall appearance is cylindrical and coral-shaped, yellow, fleshy, and sticky when fresh, and orange-yellow (4 A 8) to light orange (5 A 5) when dry. Stipe 8–40 (–41) mm high, gradually narrowing, forming a unique funicular rhizome, widening toward branching, a few connected transversely to adjacent stalks, with deep grooves at junctions of fused branches, smooth, glabrous, and reddish yellow (4 A 6–7) to light yellow (4 A 4) rhizomorph white; Base part light yellow (2 A 5), context pithy to hollow, sticky, watery fluid exudes when broken, stiff and waxy after drying, and the bruise is unaltered. Branches 4–5 ranks, ascending, polychotomous, gelatinous, and smooth from the outside, pale orange; axils roughly rounded; apices 2–4 mm long, blunt to sharp, and pale orange (5 A 3) up to the tips with a little greenish-grey (27D2) tint. Odour not distinctive.

Basidiospores (3–) 4–6 × 2–3.5 (–4) μm [ Q =1.5–2.43, Q m =1.98 ± 0.21], oblong to ellipsoid, slightly bent at end, faintly cyanophilic contents, somewhat thick wall; verrucose, multi-guttulate when mature, with roughened form of low, coarse warts and delicate, meandering ridges. Basidia (18–) 20–40 (–45) × 3–5 (–6) μm, clavate, clamped; contents homogeneous when young, slightly grainy, hyaline or slightly yellowish, slightly cyanophilous, 4-spored. Hyphal system septate, branching, agglutinated with crystalline contents, monomitic, and with septate generative hyphae; tramal hyphae of branches (1.8) 2–5 μm wide, narrow to thick-walled, branching, parallel, and compactly organized. Clamp connections are present.

Habitat: Gregarious on the soil around Quercus sp.

Distribution: Only known from Yunnan, China.

Material examined: China, Yunnan Province, Qujing Normal University, on soil under a Quercus sp. , 25°31′08′′ N 103°45′27′′ E, elev. 1,625 m, 14 June 2022, W. Lu, QJ128 ( HKAS 127150, holotype).

Additional specimens examined: China, Yunnan Province, Qujing Normal University, on soil under a Quercus sp. , 25°31′11′′ N 103°45′5′′ E, elev. 1,628 m, 14 June 2022, W. Lu & S. C. Karunarathna, QJ342 ( HKAS 128154, paratype).

Notes: In phylogenetic analyses ( Figure 1 ), our new collections of P. yunnanensis were well-separated from P. carovinacea specimens ( AMB 18533, AMB 18534, AMB 18551, TUR-A-209584) with 58% BS and 0.95 PP statistical support. Morphologically, P. yunnanensis differs from P. carovinacea by having smaller basidiomata (30–60 × 10–20 mm vs. 50–70 × 20–30 mm), longer stipe (8–40 vs. 30 mm), connections of branches are reddish yellow to light yellow, base part light yellow, smaller basidia (20–40 × 3–5 mm vs. 28–40 × 5–7 mm), and narrower hyphae branches (2–5 μm vs. 8–10 μm). In addition, P. yunnanensis is similar to P. jilinensis which was reported in China ( MHHNU 10504) ( Deng et al. 2024). Phaeoclavulina yunnanensis differs from P. jilinensis by having reddish-yellow to light yellow, smaller basidiomata (30–60 × 10–20 mm vs. 35–90 × 15–50 mm), verrucose, smaller basidiospores (4–6 × 2–3.5 μm vs. 6–8 × 3–5 μm), polychotomous, blunt sharp spines, smooth and gelatinous at the top of branches ( Deng et al. 2024). However, the phylogenetic analysis indicates that P. yunnanensis and P. jilinensis are clustered in different clades ( Figure 1 ). Therefore, in this study, P. yunnanensis is introduced as a new species based on morphological and molecular evidence.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Phylogenetic tree for Phaeoclavulina generated from ITS and LSU sequences using maximum likelihood (ML) analysis and Bayesian Inference (BI) analyses. The ML bootstrap values ≥ 55% and BI posterior probabilities ≥ 0.90 are provided at relevant nodes (BS/PP). The new species are highlighted in red bold text. T means type specimens.

FIGURE 2. Phaeoclavulina yunnanensis (holotype, HKAS 127150). a Basidiomata on the soil around Quercus sp. b Junctions of fused branches. c Basidiospores. d Basidia and basidioles. e Hyphae in trama of branch region. Scale bars: a, b = 10 mm, d = 20 μm, c, e = 5 μm.