A new species of Geastrum (Geastrales, Geastraceae) from Shandong Province, China
Geastrum maolingense (Geastrales, Geastraceae), a new fungal species from Maoling Mountain in Ji’nan City, Shandong Province, China, is described and illustrated. It was found growing in a forest dominated by Platycladus orientalis. The description integrates morphological characteristics, ecological data, and molecular evidence. Phylogenetic analyses using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and large subunit nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrLSU) sequences strongly support recognizing G. maolingense as a distinct species, forming an independent, highly supported clade within the genus Geastrum. A detailed morphological description, illustrations, comparisons with phenotypically similar and phylogenetically related species, and phylogenetic analysis results are provided.
Authors
- Panmeng Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9080-6646)
- DONG-FANG HAN (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2071-8994)
- Zhuang Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8962-1038)
- Yuan Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3087-511X)
- JING-XU SHEN (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8920-3416)
- YONG-QI WEI (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0051-6239)
- WEI-JIA LUO (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0878-9450)
- DE-BAO ZHANG (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-0490-7158)
Institutions
- Shandong Academy of Environmental Science (CN)
- Shandong Agricultural University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Phytotaxa
- Published
- 2026-10-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.782.2.3
- Primary Topic
- Plant and Fungal Species Descriptions
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00