Morphological and molecular identification of Phlebia wuliangshanensis sp. nov. in China

A new white-rot fungus, Phlebia wuliangshanensis, is proposed based on a combination of morphological features and molecular evidence. The species is characterized by an annual growth habit, resupinate basidiocarps with a smooth to tuberculate hymenial surface, a monomitic hyphal system with thin- to thick-walled generative hyphae bearing simple septa, presence of cystidia, and narrow ellipsoid to ellipsoid basidiospores (5-6 x 3-3.7 mu m). Our phylogenetic analyses of ITS and LSU nrRNA sequences performed with maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony, and Bayesian inference methods support P. wuliangshanensis within a phlebioid clade in Meruliaceae (Polyporales). ITS+nLSU sequence analyses of additional Phlebia taxa strongly support P. wuliangshanensis within a monophyletic lineage grouped with P. chrysocreas and P. uda.