Three new species of the genus Clavulina (Hydnaceae, Cantharellales) from North China based on morphological and phylogenetic analysis

Clavulina possesses important ecological and economic value and has attracted extensive attention from mycologists. Macrofungal diversity is high in China, but Clavulina species have not been thoroughly studied. In this study, based on morphological evidence and phylogenetic analyses of the nucleotide sequences of three loci (nrITS, nrLSU, and rpb2), three new species of Clavulina from North China were identified. Morphologically, Clavulina chengdeensis is characterized by its white to dirty white basidiomata with somewhat pale orange tips and somewhat wrinkled hymenium. Clavulina griseoviolacea is characterized by its gray to dark grayish violet basidiomata, with a sometimes-white stipe base, monopodial or irregularly polychotomous toward branch apices. Clavulina pallida is characterized by its white to pale cream white basidiomata with somewhat orange tips. Phylogenetically, the three new species form three independent branches with high support values in the phylogenetic tree.