Wood-rotting fungi are organisms that can decompose wood substrates and extract nutrients from them to support their growth. They play a crucial role in the material cycle of forest ecosystems. The genus Pluteus plays a significant role in wood decomposition. In this study, the morphology and molecular systematics of the sect. Celluloderma of the genus Pluteus were carried out. Pluteus brunneodiscus was identified as a new species, along with the discovery of two new records, P. cystidiosus and P. chrysophlebius, and a common species, P. romellii. Pluteus brunneodiscus is characterized by the brown center of the pileus that transitions to white towards the margins, with the surface cracking to form irregular granules. It is typically found in Populus forests growing on decomposing twigs or wood chips. Line drawings, color photographs, and phylogenetic analyses of related species within the genus Pluteus accompany the descriptions of these four species. The analyses are based on ITS + TEF1-α sequence data. Finally, a key for the twenty species within the sect. Celluloderma of the genus Pluteus, which has been documented in China, is provided.

Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China embraces a unique geographical and ecological environment, and the macrofungi represent a rich resource. However, few studies on the genus Pluteus have been reported from Xinjiang. In 2021, the macrofungal resources in Xinjiang were surveyed, and 10 specimens belonging to the genus Pluteus were collected. Based on the morphological study and molecular analysis, three species were recognized, P. aletaiensis, P. brunneidiscus, and P. hongoi. Pluteus aletaiensis is proposed as a new species. It is characterized by its bright yellow lamellae and stipe, brittle texture, subfusiform to vesicular pleurocystidia, with short pedicels to broadly lageniform to obtuse at apices, a hymeniderm pileipellis, containing dark brown intracellular pigment, and it grows on the ground. Pluteus brunneidiscus, a new record to China, is characterized by uneven, smooth, grayish brown to brown pileus, with an entire margin, and pointed or flatter apices intermediate cystidia, without apical hooks. Pluteus hongoi, a new record to Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, is characterized by the apical hook’s structure (commonly bifid) of pleurocystidia. The nuclear internal transcribed spacer (nrITS) and translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1-a) region were used for the molecular analysis. Phylogenetic trees were constructed using both the maximum likelihood analysis (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI). Detailed descriptions of the three species are presented herein. Finally, a key to the list of eight species of the genus Pluteus knew from Xinjiang is provided.

Two new species of Diatrype collected in northeast China are described and illustrated based on morphological and molecular evidence. Diatrype larissae from Heilongjiang Province is characterised by having 3–6 perithecia in a stroma, asci polysporous, ascospores allantoid, aseptate, slightly or moderately curved, subhyaline. Diatrype betulaceicola from Inner Mongolia has large stroma with 5–14 perithecia, perithecium immersed, asci polysporous, long-stalked, ascospores allantoid, aseptate, slightly curved, subhyaline. The phylogenies inferred from the data set of nrDNA ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 (ITS) and beta-tubulin (β-tubulin) supported the two new species both as members in the genus Diatrype and distinct species. The morphological similarities and dissimilarities of the new species with phylogenetically close relatives are discussed. A dichotomous identification key to the Diatrype spp. known from China is proposed.

Pluteus is a genus of wood-rot fungi with considerable ecological importance in forest ecosystems. Within this genus, section Hispidoderma is distinctively characterized by a specific combination of pileipellis structures (trichoderm, hymeniderm, or trichohymeniderm) and non-metuloid hymenial cystidia, which together provide key morphological basis for section delimitation. In this study, we combined genetic data from three gene regions (large subunit ribosomal RNA [LSU], internal transcribed spacer [ITS], and translation elongation factor 1-alpha [tef1]) to construct the major phylogenetic framework of section Hispidoderma. Our analysis revealed three primary clades (/plautus clade, /leoninus clade, /umbrosus clade) and one lineage (/pantherinus lineage). We subsequently identified several important morphological features and correlated them with phylogenetic relationships to reveal shared characteristics among species within each evolutionary clade. Building on this framework, we constructed phylogenetic trees using three datasets (ITS, tef1 and a combined ITS+tef1) to analyze the phylogenetic structure and species relationships within each clade and lineage. By comprehensively integrating morphology, phylogenetic data, substrate preferences, and species distribution, we identified 18 species: nine new species (P. albivillus, P. baishanzuensis, P. costatus, P. hinnuleus, P. jilinensis, P. piceicola, P. spaniophyllus, P. tenuipileus, and P. ultraputripiceae), one new record for China (P. ussuriensis), seven previously known species (P. granularis, P. leoninus, P. longistriatus, P. umbrosus, P. umbrosoides, P. variabilicolor, and P. velutinus), and one species of uncertain taxonomic affinity (P. aff. semibulbosus). This study provides detailed documentation, including line drawings and color photographs of the 18 identified species, along with phylogenetic analyses of their evolutionary relationships. Additionally, we present a thorough identification key for the 25 species of sect. Hispidoderma found in China. By clarifying the delineation of clades and species boundaries within sect. Hispidoderma, this work significantly advances our understanding of the taxonomy of this ecologically important fungal group.

Gymnopus is a widely distributed genus consisting of about 300 species thus far, including Gymnopus fusipes as a generic type. A total of nine species from China belong to the sect. Levipedes, including eight new species—Gymnopus longisterigmaticus, Gymnopus longus, Gymnopus macrosporus, Gymnopus striatus, Gymnopus changbaiensis, Gymnopus tomentosus, Gymnopus tiliicola, and Gymnopus globulosus—which were delimited and proposed based on morphological and molecular evidence; and one new record from Jilin Province, China—Gymnopus erythropus. Detailed descriptions and illustrations are presented, as well as comparisons to similar species. Overall, our results broaden the morphological characterization of the genus. The pileipellis of sect. Levipedes typically takes on the “Dryophila structure”, while, in our findings, pileipellis terminal hyphae inflated to spherical to prolate were observed, in addition to extremely long basidia sterigma. The phylogenies inferred from the ITS and nLSU dataset supported the Gymnopus, which was defined by Oliveira et al. as a monophyletic genus, and the novel species as separate lineages within. A key to all species described in this study is also provided.

Macrofungi are essential in forest ecological functioning. Their distribution and diversity are primarily impacted by vegetation, topography, and environmental factors, such as precipitation and temperature. However, the composition and topographical changes of the macrofungi between the eastern mountainous area and central plains of Jilin Province are currently unknown. For this study, we selected six investigational sites representing three different topographical research sites in Jilin Province to assess macrofungal diversity, and applied a quadrat sampling method. Macro- and micro-morphological characteristics combined with the molecular method were used to identify the collected macrofungi. Meanwhile, selected meteorological data were obtained for statistical analysis. As a result, 691 species were identified, of which Agarics were the most common, accounting for 60.23%, while the Cantharelloid fungi were the least common (0.91%). Furthermore, most of the shared genera (species) were saprophytic. The α diversity showed that the species diversity and richness in Longwan National Forest Park (B2) were the highest at the genus level. The mycorrhizal macrofungi proportion revealed that Quanshuidong Forest Farm (A1) was the healthiest. Finally, species composition similarity decreased with the transition from mountainous to hilly plains. We concluded that the occurrence of macrofungi was most influenced by vegetation. The air humidity, precipitation, and wind velocity were also found to significantly impact the occurrence of macrofungi. Finally, the mycorrhizal:saprophytic ratios and species similarity decreased with the transition from the mountainous area to the plains. The results presented here help elucidate the macrofungi composition and their relationship with environmental factors and topography in Jilin Province, which is crucial for sustainable utilization and future conservation.