Morphological and phylogenetic study identifies five new Hydnellum species in northeastern and central China

A taxonomic and phylogenetic study of fungal specimens collected in northeastern and central China identified and described five new species of the ectomycorrhizal genus Hydnellum: H. aureomarginatum, H. coalescens, H. flavomarginatum, H. imbricatum and H. jianense. Four species were described from Jilin Province and one from Anhui Province. The study combined macroscopic and microscopic examination with analysis of nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer and large-subunit nuclear ribosomal RNA sequences.

The specimens had been assembled over six years through field surveys for macrofungi in northeastern and central China. Collections from Anhui and Jilin were documented macroscopically, dried in a constant-temperature oven at 40–45 °C and deposited in the fungal herbarium of Jilin Agricultural University. Microscopic work included examination of sections mounted in 5% KOH, measurements of 50 basidiospores per species, and tests of amyloid and cyanophilous reactions.

For the molecular analysis, researchers extracted genomic DNA from dried specimens, amplified the ITS and nrLSU regions, sequenced the products and generated consensus sequences. The combined dataset contained 221 sequences from 128 specimens representing 66 taxa and spanned 2,604 aligned sites. Maximum-likelihood and Bayesian analyses produced consistent tree topologies. The five new collections were recovered in well-supported species-level lineages, each with a Bayesian posterior probability of 1.0 and maximum-likelihood bootstrap support of 100%.

H. coalescens and H. flavomarginatum each formed an independent lineage. The other three were sister to previously named species: H. aureomarginatum to H. earlianum, H. imbricatum to H. lidongensis and H. jianense to H. ferrugineum. These placements were evaluated alongside morphology, habitat and associated vegetation rather than treated as the sole basis for recognizing the new taxa.

H. aureomarginatum has a deeply infundibuliform, pubescent pileus with a golden-yellow inner margin and a white outer edge, short decurrent spines and subglobose to ellipsoid spores. Its type specimen was collected at about 736 m elevation in a Quercus mongolica forest in Jian National Nature Reserve, Jilin, and an additional specimen was also found under Q. mongolica. Soil pH at the two collection sites was 5.1 and 5.3.

H. coalescens is distinguished by the fused or connate stipes of multiple fruiting bodies, which form compound basidiomes. It has a yellowish-brown, flabelliform pileus with irregular scales, white deeply decurrent spines and globose to subglobose spores measuring 5.0–6.0 by 5.0–6.0 μm. The type and an additional specimen were collected at about 800–900 m elevation in a Quercus serrata forest in Tianma National Nature Reserve, Anhui.

H. flavomarginatum retains a golden-yellow pileus margin from youth to maturity. Its brownish-orange to dark-brown pileus is concentrically zonate, while its spores are globose to subglobose, measuring 6.0–7.0 by 6.0–6.5 μm, with isolated or paired tubercles. Three specimens were recorded in a Q. mongolica forest at 600–700 m elevation in the core zone of Ji’an National Nature Reserve, Jilin, where measured soil pH ranged from 4.9 to 5.3.

H. imbricatum has a large pileus with concentrically arranged, fissured scales, a chocolate-like odor, long sparse spines and relatively large ellipsoid spores averaging 6.18 by 5.13 μm. The type and an additional specimen were found in a Pinus koraiensis forest at approximately 600–800 m elevation in Ji’an National Nature Reserve, with soil pH of 6.1 and 6.2. H. jianense is smaller, with a pileus 22.0–30.0 mm wide that is white to yellowish grey and covered with grayish-orange tomentum that bruises light brown. It has sparse subdecurrent spines and small ellipsoid spores averaging 4.98 by 4.14 μm. Its two specimens came from a Q. mongolica forest at 700–800 m elevation, where soil pH was 5.6–5.8.

The study also summarized morphological and ecological information for the 48 Hydnellum species then documented in China and provided a key for their identification. The authors noted substantial overlap among macroscopic and microscopic traits, making identification from a single character difficult. Ecological records placed 40 of the 48 species primarily in forests dominated by Quercus, Pinus or other Pinaceae, or in mixed stands, indicating an association with those forest types. However, detailed information on host specificity and fine-scale ecological habits remained limited. This was therefore a taxonomic and phylogenetic investigation of collected fungal specimens, not a direct test of host specificity, ecosystem function or the effects of the five species on forest vegetation.

Subject of Research: Taxonomic identification and phylogenetic analysis of five new Hydnellum species collected in northeastern and central China

Article Title: Morphological and molecular analyses reveal five new species of Hydnellum ( Bankeraceae , Thelephorales ) from the Changbai Mountains and Dabie Mountains, China

Article References: Tuo, Y., Liu, M., Qi, Z., Chu, H., Hu, J., Zhang, B., Li, Y., & Li, X. (2026). Morphological and molecular analyses reveal five new species of Hydnellum (Bankeraceae, Thelephorales) from the Changbai Mountains and Dabie Mountains, China. MycoKeys, 142, 43-72. https://doi.org/10.3897/mycokeys.142.199686

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/mycokeys.142.199686

Keywords: Hydnellum, fungal taxonomy, species discovery, phylogenetics, ITS sequences, nrLSU sequences, macro fungi, ectomycorrhizal fungi, Jilin Province, Anhui Province, Morphological, molecular