Lentaria deqinensis M.J. Li & P. Zhang, 2025

Lentaria deqinensis M.J. Li & P. Zhang , sp. nov. ( Figs. 1 View FIGURE 1 , 2 View FIGURE 2 )

MycoBank:855751

Diagnosis:—Differs from Lentaria patouillardii by having more strongly acute and white branch tips, semitransparent branches, and larger basidiospores.

Holotype:— CHINA. Yunnan Province, Deqin County, 28°10′50″N, 98°57′60″E, elev. 3730 m, 17 August 2018, leg. P. Zhang ( MHHNU9945 ) GoogleMaps

Etymology:— “ deqinensis ” refers to Deqin County in Yunnan Province in China, from where the holotype was collected.

Description:— Basidiomata caespitose or gregarious, 4–6 cm high, 1–3 cm broad, branching 2–4 times, butter yellow [4A5, butter yellow] when young, no color change by maturity, drying light drab [5D5, clay] and grayish olive [5E6, mustard brown]. Branches erect, semitransparent, rounded in cross-section, surface smooth, branch tips obtuse to acute with age, axils V-shaped, apices white. Stipe 20–30 mm tall, 2 mm diam., tapering downward, surface rugose covered with a white felty mycelial layer at the base. Odor unapparent.

Basidiospores [65/4/2] (8.0–)8.1–10.4(–11.3) × (2.0–)2.1–3.5(–4.0) μm [Q = (2.43–)2.48–3.94(4.50), Q m = 3.07 ± 0.36], cylindrical or fusiform, sway-back, protuberant in the middle near the base, rounded and blunt at the apex, subacute at the base, thin-walled, smooth, hyaline in KOH, inamyloid; hilar appendix gradual. Branch tramal hyphae 3–6 μm, occasionally inflated to 10 μm, hyaline, parallel; hyphae near subhymenium 2–3 μm in diam. Basidia 29–39 × 4–7 μm, oblong-clavate, clamped, hyaline, sterigmata 4, 4–6 μm long. Cystidia none.

Habit and distribution:—Basidiomata appear in summer on twigs or leaf debris under coniferous trees (August). It is only known in southwestern China.

Additional material examined:— China. Yunnan Province, Deqin County, 28°10′50″N, 98°57′60″E, elev. 3730 m,

19 August 2024, leg. P. Zhang (MHHNU12110).

Phylogenetic analyses

A multi-gene dataset consisting of 41 sequences (27 ITS and 14 nrLSU), representing 10 Lentaria taxa and one outgroup taxon, was used for molecular phylogenetic analysis. The matrix of concatenated sequences comprised 1701 bp. Clavariadelphus truncatus Donk (1933: 73) was included as the outgroup (Voucher number UBC: F30993, QHU20413). The ML tree ( Fig. 3 View FIGURE 3 ) was highly similar in topology to the BI tree (not shown). Relevant nodes with bootstrap values (BS) and posterior probabilities (PP) greater than or equal to 50% and 0.95, respectively, are indicated in Fig. 3 View FIGURE 3 . The Lentaria taxa formed two sister clades (Clades A and B) with strong support (PP 1, BS 100%), which was largely consistent with the findings of a previous study ( Liu et al. 2017). Clade A comprised four temperate species, namely, L. byssiseda Corner (1950: 439) , L. micheneri (Berk. & M.A.) Corner (1950: 441), L. patouillardii (Bres.) Corner (1950: 444) , and L. deqinensis . Six tropical and subtropical species, comprising L. gossypina R. Salas-Lizana, M. Villegas & E. Pérez-Pazos (2020: 124) , L. surculus (Berk.) Corner (1950: 444) , L. variabilis M. Villegas, R. Garibay-orijel & N. Matías-Ferrer (2020: 126), L. bambusina , L. aff. micheneri , and L. uncispora , were grouped in Clade B. The two accessions of L. deqinensis formed a distinct lineage within clade A sister group with L. patouillardii having PP 1, BS 100% statistical support.