Scleroderma zengchengense Kun L. Yang, Jia Y. Lin, Yu-Rong Liang & Zhu L. Yang 2025, sp. nov.

(2.7) Scleroderma zengchengense Kun L. Yang, Jia Y. Lin, Yu-Rong Liang & Zhu L. Yang, sp. nov. (Fig. 16) Registration identifier:— FN572390 Etymology:— Referring to the type locality. Diagnosis:— Differing from S. aureum, S. endoxanthum, S. flavidum, S. gaibeioides, S. sinnamariense, S. solare and S. xanthochroum by the distinctly squamulose peridium. Type:— China, Guangdong Province, Guangzhou City, Zengcheng District, Dafengmen Reservoir, 113°48'45"E, 23°34'56"N, elevation 261 m, July 8, 2023, Yu-Rong Liang, ACE80 - S23310 (HKAS145953, holotype (deposited in the Herbarium of Cryptogams in Kunming Institute of Botany of Chinese Academy of Sciences; ITS: PV059126; nrLSU: PV054248); HTBM1021, isotype). Description:— Basidioma small, 20 mm in diameter, 23 mm in height including a stipe 7 mm long, subglobose; odor fungal; taste unknown. Peridium leathery, 1.5 mm thick, milky yellow (#FFF07A), with a milky yellow (#FFF07A) to sun orange (#FCD742) context, becoming darker after damaged, with rough, flaky to granular, sandal brown (#BA8B70) squamules. Gleba compact at first, becoming pulverulent, coal blue (#40474D). Basal rhizomorphs moderately abundant, yellowish to orangish. Basidiospores {40/1/1} 7–8.5 (9) [7.83 ± 0.51, 8.00] µm in diameter including ornamentation, mostly globose, rarely subglobose, thick-walled, with echinulate 0.5–1 µm high, brownish to purplish, often surrounded by remnants of placental cells. Basidia collapsed. Gleba trama composed of 2–5.5 μm wide, thin-walled to slightly thick-walled, nearly colorless to slightly brownish, compact, moderately branching, subregularly arranged to interwoven hyphae with clamp connections. Peridial squamules composed of 3–8 μm wide, thin-walled to slightly thick-walled, yellowish to brownish, moderately compact, moderately branching, interwoven hyphae with clamp connections. Peridial trama composed of 3–7 μm wide, slightly thick-walled, nearly colorless to slightly yellowish, compact, moderately to frequently branching, subregularly arranged to interwoven hyphae with clamp connections. Habits and distribution:— Gregarious, on soil, in subtropical forests, associated with plants of Fagaceae. Currently known from Asia (China) with molecular evidence. Notes:— This is one of the numerous cryptic species recognized in the S. sinnamariense complex, see notes for Scleroderma gaibeioides for details.