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.

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.

Edible mushrooms have gained global popularity due to their nutritional value, medicinal properties, bioactive compounds and industrial applications. Despite their long-standing roles in ecology, nutrition, and traditional medicine, their additional functions in cultivation, breeding, and classification processes are still in their infancy due to technological constraints. The advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies has transformed the cultivation process of mushrooms, genetic breeding, and classification methods. However, the analysis of the application of AI in the mushroom production cycle is currently scattered and unorganized. This comprehensive review explores the application of AI technologies in mushroom cultivation, breeding, and classification. Four databases (Scopus, IEEE Xplore, Web of Science, and PubMed) and one search engine (Google Scholar) were used to perform a thorough review of the literature on the utility of AI in various aspects of the mushroom production cycle, including intelligent environmental control, disease detection, yield prediction, germplasm characterization, genotype–phenotype integration, genome editing, gene mining, multi-omics, automatic species identification and grading. In order to fully realize the potential of these edge-cutting AI technologies in transforming mushroom breeding, classification, and cultivation, this review addresses challenges and future perspectives while calling for interdisciplinary approaches and multimodal fusion.

The genus Gymnopus plays a significant role in ecological systems, with certain species holding potential as food or medicinal resources. However, the species diversity of Gymnopus in China remains unclear. In recent years, more than one thousand Gymnopus specimens have been collected across China. Thus, through the integration of ecological evidence, detailed morphological studies, and phylogenetic analysis using a multiloci dataset of ITS + nLSU + tef1-ɑ, four new species—Gymnopus longistipes, Gymnopus striatipileatus, Gymnopus viridiscus, and Gymnopus spadiceus—have been differentiated from known species. Gymnopus similis has been newly documented from Jiangxi Province, China. Detailed descriptions and vivid illustrations have been provided based on the newly collected specimens, along with comparisons to closely related species. Additionally, a key to the reported species of Gymnopus s.l. from East China has been included.

The genus Gymnopus has a long research history and is known for its high species diversity worldwide. However, its species diversity in China remains poorly understood. Through a combination of detailed morphological studies and phylogenetic analysis, this study described two new species from Northeast and Central China, Gymnopus biyangensis and Gymnopus sinodryophilus, both belonging to Gymnopus sect. Levipedes. Gymnopus biyangensis is characterized by basidiomata appearing in summer and originating from broad-leaved forests, a dark reddish-brown pileus, a cylindrical to clavate stipe, and clavate to cylindrical, diverticulate cheilocystidia. Gymnopus sinodryophilus differs by the yellowish-white to light brown basidiomata arising from coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forests, coralloid but inflated pileipellis terminal cells, and an apex of cheilocystidia not coralloid. Additionally, a key to the reported species of Gymnopus sect. Levipedes in China is provided.

Hydnum, a well-defined genus in the family Hydnaceae (order Cantharellales), is characterized by its distinctive spine-bearing hymenophores. In this study, we performed a multi-locus phylogenetic analysis (ITS-nrLSU-tef1) of Hydnum species. Integrating morphological examinations and phylogenetic evidence, we identified and delineated five Hydnum species in China, which include four novel species (Hydnum crassipedum, H. albomarginatum, H. fulvostriatum, and H. bifurcatum) and the first record (H. orientalbidum) in Anhui Province. This study provides a comprehensive morphological description (including macroscopic morphology and microscopic structure), hand-drawn illustrations (encompassing basidiocarps, basidiospores, basidia, and pileipellis hyphae), morphological comparative analysis with similar species, and comparative phylogenetic analysis with related taxa. Furthermore, we developed a dichotomous key for identifying Hydnum species distributed in China.