Comprehensive morphological and phylogenetic analyses of Hymenochaetales (Basidiomycota) unveil one new genus and twenty-six novel wood-inhabiting species from southwestern China.

As part of an ongoing inventory of Basidiomycota in China, we examined species of the order Hymenochaetales collected from tropical forests. Fungi of this order cause wood rot or diseases in woody plants worldwide and recent studies have substantially contributed to improve their classification system by combining phylogenetic and morphological analysis. However, the species diversity of Hymenochaetales in the high-altitude forests of southwestern China is comparably understudied. We tackled this sampling gap in the present study and provide morphological descriptions, illustrations, and comprehensive notes as well as sequence and phylogenetic data for in total one new genus and 26 new species. As a result of these integrative analyses, we were able to phylogenetically resolve thirteen supported lineages in the Hymenochaetales. While numerous Hymenochaetales fungi have been documented in China, our report clearly shows that the diversity within the family Hymenochaetales remains largely unexplored, leaving significant potential for further discoveries in Chinese tropical forests. Citation: Wang L, He SY, Lambert C, Zhu YG, Zhang JL, Yang Y, Li WL, Zhou HM, Zhao CL (2026). Comprehensive morphological and phylogenetic analyses of Hymenochaetales (Basidiomycota) unveil one new genus and twenty-six novel wood-inhabiting species from southwestern China. Persoonia 56: 328-380. doi: 10.3114/persoonia.2026.56.05.