Three new species of Picipes (Polyporales, Basidiomycota) from China

Three new wood-inhabiting fungi viz. Picipes abieticola, P. brevisporus and P. sinodictyopus spp. nov. are proposed, based on a combination of morphological features and molecular evidence. Picipes abieticola is characterised by eccentrically stipitate basidiomata with fan-shaped pilei, shining pore surface, pores 5–7 per mm and the presence of irregular crystals amongst hyphae, basidiospores measuring 7.5–9.3 × 2.8–3.5 µm and growth on Abies fabri.

The species Picipes brevisporus is characterised by small basidiomata having smaller pores (7–9 per mm), the presence of subulate cystidioles, short oblong ellipsoid basidiospores (3.8–5.7 × 2.3–3.1 µm) and growth on Miscanthus. The taxa Picipes sinodictyopus are characterised by laterally stipitate basidiomata having auricular to fan-shaped pilei with olivaceous buff pore surface, angular pores and cylindrical basidiospores measuring 5.8–7.3 × 2.3–2.8 µm.

The phylogenetic tree inferred from the ITS + nLSU dataset highlighted the placement of the three new species in the genus Picipes (Polyporaceae, Polyporales) using Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference methods. Phylogenetically related and morphologically similar species to these three new species are discussed.