Discovery of two new Phaeoclavulina species (Basidiomycota, Gomphaceae) from high-elevation habitats in the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau

The genus <i>Phaeoclavulina</i> is characterized by coralloid basidiomata with complex branching patterns and diverse pigmentation. Here, two new species, <i>Phaeoclavulina fruticosa</i> <b>sp. nov</b>. and <i>P. qinghaiensis</i> <b>sp. nov</b>., were discovered in high-elevation coniferous forests (ca. 2870 m) on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, China. <i>Phaeoclavulina fruticosa</i> is characterized by compact, densely branched, caespitose basidiomata that turn blue when injured and by dacryoid to ellipsoid basidiospores with patched to subconical to verrucose ornamentations. <i>Phaeoclavulina qinghaiensis</i> is characterized by yellow to orange-yellow basidiomata that do not change color when bruised, and by broadly ellipsoid to oblong, densely verrucose basidiospores. Phylogenetic analyses based on concatenated ITS + LSU rDNA sequences place the two new species as distinct, well-supported lineages within <i>Phaeoclavulina</i>. This study further expands the diversity of <i>Phaeoclavulina</i> on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.