Discovery of two new Phaeoclavulina species (Basidiomycota, Gomphaceae) from high-elevation habitats in the Qinghai – Xizang Plateau

The genus Phaeoclavulina is characterized by coralloid basidiomata with complex branching patterns and diverse pigmentation. Here, two new species, Phaeoclavulina fruticosa sp. nov. and P. qinghaiensis sp. nov., were discovered in high-elevation coniferous forests (ca. 2870 m) on the Qinghai – Xizang Plateau, China. Phaeoclavulina fruticosa is characterized by compact, densely branched, caespitose basidiomata that turn blue when injured and by dacryoid to ellipsoid basidiospores with patched to subconical to verrucose ornamentations.

Phaeoclavulina qinghaiensis is characterized by yellow to orange-yellow basidiomata that do not change color when bruised, and by broadly ellipsoid to oblong, densely verrucose basidiospores. Phylogenetic analyses based on concatenated ITS + LSU rDNA sequences place the two new species as distinct, well-supported lineages within Phaeoclavulina. This study further expands the diversity of Phaeoclavulina on the Qinghai – Xizang Plateau.