Revealing Brownish Mycena Diversity in China: New Discoveries and Taxonomic Insights

Abstract

Within the genus Mycena, species exhibiting brownish basidiomata present considerable challenges in identification due to similar coloration. This study underscores the significance of pileipellis types and cheilocystidia characteristics as critical in delimiting brownish Mycena species. To clarify the principal taxonomic characters and their utility in distinguishing between brownish Mycena species, a morphological taxonomy and phylogenetic analysis were performed. Five new species from China were introduced and characterized through a comprehensive morphological anatomy and phylogenetic substantiation: M. campanulatihemisphaerica sp. nov., M. digitifurcata sp. nov., M. kunyuensis sp. nov., M. limitis sp. nov., and M. oryzifluens sp. nov. Discussions of these taxa are supplemented with morphological illustrations. The phylogenetic relationships were inferred using Bayesian Inference and Maximum Likelihood methods based on sequences from the internal transcribed spacer and the large subunit regions of nuclear ribosomal RNA. With the addition of these five new species, the worldwide count of brownish Mycena increases to 94, and a key to the 29 known species of brownish Mycena from China is presented.

Mycena brunnescens (Basidiomycota, Mycenaceae), a new species of Mycena sect. Pterigenae from China

“…China has abundant Mycena resources and many new Mycena species have been recorded to date ( Ge et al 2021 , Liu et al 2021 , Liu et al 2022 , Na and Bau 2018 , Na and Bau 2019a , Na and Bau 2019b , Na et al 2022 , Qiang and Bai 2023 , Wei et al 2024 ). During our field investigations of mycenoid fungi in China, we discovered a new species.…”