Clavuliella sinensis Q. Zhou & C. L. Zhao sp. nov.

Figs 12, 13, 14

Holotype.

China • Guizhou Province: Guiyang, Qianlingshan Forest Park, GPS coordinates: 26°36′N, 106°41′E, altitude: 1396 m asl., on the ground, leg. C. L. Zhao, 21 August 2023, CLZhao 31231 (SWFC).

Etymology.

sinensis (Lat.): refers to the type locality (China).

Description.

Basidiomata annual, coralloid, gregarious to caespitose clusters, 0.6–1.5 cm tall, 0.62–1.6 cm wide, frequently branched 2–3 times, forming dichotomous branches at the apices, without odor or taste, soft when fresh, becoming brittle upon drying, usually lacking obvious basal mycelium; greyish white to light grey when fresh, turning to dark grey upon drying; with sharply acuminate or cristate tips.

Hyphal system monomitic, generative hyphae simple-septa, colorless, slightly thick-walled, frequently branched, interwoven, 4–10.5 μm in diameter; IKI –, CB –, tissues unchanged in KOH.

Cystidia and cystidioles absent. Basidia cylindrical, with a median constriction, slightly thick-walled, with 2 sterigmata and a basal simple-septum, with oily contents, 18.5–43 × 6–9 μm; basidioles abundant, in shape similar to basidia, but slightly smaller.

Basidiospores subglobose to broadly ellipsoid, colorless, thin-walled, smooth, with oil drop, IKI –, CB –, (7 –) 7.5–9.5 (– 10) × 6.5–8 (– 8.5) μm, L = 8.52 µm, W = 7.51 µm, Q = 1.13 μm (n = 30 / 1).