Notes on Amanita section Validae in Hainan Island, China

Abstract

Hainan is the second largest island in China with the most extensive and well-preserved tropical forests and is also the largest island of the Indo Burma Biodiversity Hotspot. It provides in situ conservation for the unique ecosystem of the island. Recent studies have shown that there are diverse fungal species in Hainan. In this study, about 40 collections of the genus Amanita have been studied based on the morphology and molecular systematics, including 35 Chinese specimens (24 from Hainan, and eleven from other regions) and three specimens from other countries (Singapore and Malaysia). In total, five new species belonging to Amanita section Validae are described: A. cacaina, A. parvigrisea, A. pseudofritillaria, A. pseudosculpta, and A. yangii. Amanita parvifritillaria is recorded for the first time in Hainan. It is also the first report of this fungus occurring, outside Yunnan Province, China. Among the five new species, two are unique in this section because of the appendiculate pileus margin and the absence of an annulus. Based on these new findings, the diagnosis of the section Validae should be slightly modified to include a few species with appendiculate margin and the lack of annulus.

Species Diversity of Amanita Section Vaginatae in Eastern China, with a Description of Four New Species

“…The striations on the pileal margin of A. zonata , A. pallidozonata , and A. circulata form a ring-like zone at the proximal end, while the remaining taxa in eastern China are without this zone [ 2 ]. Most species in the section are ringless, with only seven taxa with an annulus [ 12 , 21 , 50 ]. The volval remnants on the stipe base of several species are saccate, while some of them are tomentose, arranged in incomplete rings, viz.…”

“…Amanita Pers. is a cosmopolitan genus with about 700 accepted species [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. According to the most recent comprehensive phylogenetic studies, Amanita is divided into three subgenera and 11 sections [ 2 ].…”

Morphophylogenetic evidence reveals four new fungal species within Tetraplosphaeriaceae (Pleosporales, Ascomycota) from tropical and subtropical forest in China

“…Over the past few decades, extensive research has focused on fungi, encompassing both macro and microfungi, leading to the identification and documentation of roughly over 2,500 fungal species in Guizhou province ( Zhou et al 2018 , 2020a , 2020b , 2022 ; Dissanayake et al 2020 ; Chen et al 2021 ; Yang et al 2023 ). Hainan Province, the largest island in the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot, contains extensive and well-preserved tropical forests ( Huang et al 2023 ). Recent studies have indicated the presence of diverse fungal species in Hainan, with roughly over 1000 fungal species.…”

“…Recent studies have indicated the presence of diverse fungal species in Hainan, with roughly over 1000 fungal species. Most of these fungi are macrofungi ( Zhang et al 1994 ; Li et al 2010 ; Hapuarachchi et al 2018 ; Huang et al 2023 ). With our current fungal biodiversity estimates and given that mycologists anticipate many more species remain to be discovered especially in explored habitats, this research study has been undertaken to investigate microfungi in this region, and potentially discover new fungal species.…”

Diversity and taxonomy of the genus Amanita (Amanitaceae, Agaricales) in the Yanshan Mountains, Northern China

“…According to this system, Amanita was divided into 3 subgenera and 11 sections ( Cui et al., 2018 ). This system is followed by other mycologists ( Kumar et al., 2021 ; Suwannarach et al., 2022 ; Huang et al., 2023 ).…”