Taxonomy and phylogeny of <i>Cortinarius</i> sect. <i>Anomali</i> in China

<i>Cortinarius</i> section <i>Anomali</i> is a species-rich group that occurs worldwide, particularly in Europe and North America. The overlapping morphological and microscopical characteristics of <i>Anomali</i> species pose significant challenges for species identification. Therefore, the focus of this study was to clarify the taxonomy and phylogeny of section <i>Anomali</i> in China. A total of 229 specimens of section <i>Anomali</i> were collected in China over the past two decades. The present study, based on a combination of extensive morphological investigations and molecular methods, reports 22 <i>Anomali</i> species. Eleven of them are recognized as new to science and formally described here as <i>C. albocyaneoides, C. campanianomalus, C. microalbocyaneus, C. neocaninus, C. qilianensis, C. robustianomalus, C. rufolilacinus, C. subalbocyaneus, C. subanomalus, C. xizangensis</i>, and <i>C. vernalianomalus</i>, respectively. <i>Cortinarius albocyaneus, C. azureovelatus, C. caninus, C. kranabetteri, C. lepidopus</i>, and <i>C. perrotensis</i> are reported in China for the first time. In addition, the occurrence of <i>C. cinnamomeolilacinus, C. epsomiensis, C. subclackamasensis, C. tabularis</i>, and <i>C. tropicus</i> in China is confirmed. Descriptions, accompanied by illustrations of morphological characters of the Chinese <i>Anomali</i> species, and comparisons with closely related taxa are provided. The present study reports <i>Cortinarius</i> section <i>Anomali</i> in China or Asia, clarifying taxonomy and conducting phylogeny analyses based on nrITS, nrLSU, <i>rpb1</i> and <i>rpb2</i> sequences. We compare the <i>Anomali</i> species from China with those in Europe and North America, enriching the species and sequences of sect. <i>Anomali</i>. In addition, the ornamentation of basidiospores was studied using scanning electron microscopy. <b>Citation:</b> Xie ML, Dima B, Wang K, Phukhamsakda C, Li Y, Qi LL, Li GJ, Liu TZ, Jia PS, Wang Q, Song LR, Wei TZ, Li Y (2025). Taxonomy and phylogeny of <i>Cortinarius</i> sect. <i>Anomali</i> in China. <i>Persoonia</i> <b>54</b>: 225-263. doi: 10.3114/persoonia.2025.54.07.