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Exidia glandulosa is a cosmopolitan species, and it was commonly reported from China. Seventeen specimens with close resemblance to the species by having blackish, gelatinous basidiocarps were analyzed based on morphological and molecular data. Phylogenetic analyses were performed by the combined ITS+nLSU dataset and the combined ITS+nLSU+TEF1-a + RPB2 dataset, and 20 ITS, 20 nLSU, 22 TEF1-a, and 20 RPB2 sequences were newly generated. Seventeen specimens were gathered into three different lineages in phylogenies, and they were identified as three species, E. glandulosa s. str. and two new species, E. reflexa and E. subglandulosa, respectively. The two new species differ from E. glandulosa s. str. by the absence of papillae on hymenial surface, and E. reflexa differs from E. subglandulosa by obvious effused-reflexed basidiocarps and smaller basidia and basidiospores. Detailed characteristics with morphological photos of two new species were provided here.

The taxonomy of Protomerulius and Heterochaetella is revised based on DNA data and morphological evidence, and their type species, P. brasiliensis and H. dubia, are proved to be congeneric. As a consequence, H. dubia and related species, of which four are described as new, are placed in Protomerulius. Heterochaete microspora is also combined in Protomerulius, and the genus concept is redefined to encompass effused species with smooth or spiny hymenophore and monomitic hyphal structure. Psilochaete multifora, gen. and spec. nov. is a distant relative of Protomerulius spp. found in Norway. Heterochaetella cystidiophora is re-collected in Brazil and placed in the synonyms of Heterochaete sanctae-catharinae. This species does not belong to the Protomerulius–Heterochaetella lineage, and it is transferred to Metulochaete, gen. nov.

Three species currently addressed to Protohydnum (Auriculariales) are studied with morphological and DNA methods. The genus Protohydnum is retained for the type species only, P. cartilagineum, recently re-collected in Brazil. The European species, P. piceicola, is not congeneric with P. cartilagineum and, therefore, placed in its own genus, Hyalodon, gen. nov. Another Hyalodon species, H. antui, is described from East Asia. The third member of Protohydnum sensu lato, P. sclerodontium from South-East Asia, is transferred to Elmerina.

In order to fulfill the increasing demand for edible mushrooms and maintain a steady supply throughout the year, it is necessary to domesticate new wild edible mushroom species. In this study, we domesticated Auricularia thailandica, a newly identified edible species that was collected from the wild in Thailand. We compared the growth of A. thailandica in three different growth media: sawdust, wheat husk and sugarcane bagasse. The use of sawdust resulted in the fastest rate of mycelial colonisation at 56.4 ± 1.2 days, pinheads were formed in 14.2 ± 0.4 days and the biological efficiency was 17.1 ± 2.8%. Nutritional analysis showed that A. thailandica contained a higher proportion of protein (12.99 ± 0.05%) and fat (2.93 ± 0.66%) by dry weight than other commercial Auricularia spp. available on the market. The antioxidant potential of A. thailandica varied with the extraction solvent used, and the effective concentration was found to be significantly lower in methanol extract than aqueous extract. Additionally, this species has an attractive reddish orange colour and larger basidiocarps than other commercially available species.

We explored the phylogenetic relationships of Tremellodendropsis tuberosa from western North America. The species has tough, coralloid fruiting bodies that emerge from a basal tuber, as well as unusual, partially septate basidia, large elliptical spores, and regular clamp connections. It has been classified variously in Auriculariales, Tremellales, and in its own order, Tremellodendropsidiales. To evaluate support for these alternatives, we extracted DNA from four specimens and sequenced ∼5000 bp from the ribosomal large subunit, small subunit and internal transcribed spacer region from each. We aligned sequences from T. tuberosa with sequences from GenBank that represented 31 Basidiomycota orders and then analyzed the individual and concatenated sequence regions using Bayesian and maximum likelihood approaches. Analyses agreed that T. tuberosa is an early diverging member of Agaricomycetes, but did not provide unequivocal support for its sister group relationships within the class. From the concatenated alignment, after removal of poorly aligned sites using Gblocks, T. tuberosa appeared as the sister group to a clade encompassing four orders, three of them from Phallomycetidae. This relationship had a Bayesian posterior probability of 1.0 and appeared, although without bootstrap support, in maximum likelihood trees. Tree topology tests ruled out placing T. tuberosa within the Auriculariales. We accept that T. tuberosa should be placed in its own order, the Tremellodendropsidales, and not in Auriculariales or Tremellales. As a taxon that diverged early from other Basidiomycota clades, T. tuberosa should be included in further studies of phylogeny and character evolution in Agaricomycetes.

A fungus forming white gelatinous pycnidia on rotting wood was collected in Panama. The presence of hyphal clamps and dolipores with continuous parenthesomes indicates that the fungus belongs to the Basidiomycota, Agaricomycotina. In a phylogenetic hypothesis inferred from DNA sequence analysis, the species shows a close relationship with members of the Auriculariales. A new genus and species is described in order to accommodate this anamorph, being the first taxon of the Auriculariales to be known which forms pycnidia.

Auricularia auricula-judae was previously considered a single species, but was recently demonstrated to be a species complex. The economically important, cultivated Auricularia mushrooms are included in the complex. Two species are cultivated, but have been treated as a single species: A. auricula-judae. Fifty samples of so-called A. auricula-judae from Asia, Europe, and North America were analyzed using morphology and molecular phylogeny. Phylogenetic analyses were carried out by ITS sequence and combined ITS, LSU, and rpb2 sequence, and 16 ITS, 16 LSU, and 16 rpb2 sequences were newly generated. Seven species in the complex were delineated, including three species new to science: Auricularia angiospermarum, A. minutissima, and A. tibetica. Illustrated description of the three new species and discussions in relation to other species are introduced in this paper. Auricularia heimuer is the most extensively cultivated species of Auricularia. Auricularia villosula is also cultivated, but has been named by the mushroom production industry A. heimuer. The size of basidiospores and presence or absence of medulla are important characters for differentiating the species within the complex, and ITS sequence data is a sensitive marker to discriminate species. A synoptic table of comparison of species in the complex is provided including the most important characters of the seven species.

Samples of the so-called Auricularia mesenterica complex from Europe, China, and Brazil are studied, and two new species, A. orientalis and A. brasiliana, are described from the species complex based on both morphological characters and molecular evidence. Phylogenetic analysis by combined ITS, nLSU, and rpb2 sequences shows that Auricularia mesenterica, A. orientalis, and A. brasiliana are closely related as a monophyletic clade. However, Auricularia mesenterica has longer and narrower basidiospores (14–17 × 4.7–5.2 μm) and a distribution in Europe. A. orientalis has shorter and wider basidiospores (12.5–14.2 × 5–6 μm), and is found in China so far. A. brasiliana has hyphae distinctly inflated in KOH (up to 13 μm), the shortest basidia in the complex (30–47 × 3–5 μm), and was discovered in Brazil. Illustrated descriptions of the two new species are given based on the materials in the present study.

A taxonomic study of poroid Asian species in the Auriculariales was conducted using phylogenetic and morphological methods. Phylogenetic analyses based on the LSU and ITS regions reveal that Elmerina was a polyphyletic genus. Moreover, E. hexagonoides collected from Malaysia and “E. hexagonoides” from Japan formed two distinct clades within a well-supported larger clade with Protomerulius caryae. These taxa comprise a different lineage from the type species of both Protomerulius and Protodaedalea, and we conclude that they are members of the genus Aporpium. The phylogenetic position of E. cladophora (type species of Elmerina) is still unclear, and we retain Aporpium and Protodaedalea as genera distinct from Elmerina. Aporpium strigosum sp. nov. is described to represent Japanese specimens misidentified as E. hexagonoides. Aporpium is characterized by resupinate to sessile basidiocarps, tough-fleshy to leathery context, poroid hymenophore, dimitic hyphal systems with unbranched skeletal hyphae, clavate to pyriform probasidia, and ellipsoid to cylindrical or allantoid basidiospores. Aporpium strigosum is similar to A. hexagonoides, but can be differentiated by the ochraceous to straw-colored basidiocarps, strigose pileus surface with long and stiff hairs, and the larger pores, basidia, and basidiospores.