Ten new species of Inocybe and one new record for China from the Gaoligong Mountains, Southwestern China

This study was conducted by the research team of Prof. Zhu-Liang Yang at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Focusing on the species diversity of Inocybe in the Gaoligong Mountains of southwestern China, the team carried out detailed taxonomic and phylogenetic investigations based on extensive field collections, morphological examinations, and molecular analyses.

Inocybe is a large genus in Inocybaceae, Agaricales, Agaricomycetes, Basidiomycota, Fungi. Species of this genus are widely distributed across the world and represent typical ectomycorrhizal fungi that play important ecological roles in the maintenance and functioning of forest ecosystems. In addition, many species of Inocybe contain toxic compounds such as muscarine and psilocybin, which may cause poisoning in humans or animals. Therefore, accurate species identification is important not only for understanding fungal diversity and evolution, but also for poisoning prevention and the sustainable use of fungal resources.

Although Inocybe has been studied for nearly two centuries, its diversity in the Gaoligong Mountains has remained insufficiently explored. To address this gap, the research team conducted a systematic study of Inocybe specimens collected from this biodiversity hotspot. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on combined ITS, LSU, and rpb2 sequence data showed that the studied materials formed ten major lineages in the phylogenetic tree.

Based on integrated morphological observations and molecular phylogenetic evidence, the researchers described ten new species from the Gaoligong Mountains: Inocybe hirsuticeps, I. ceratina, I. longistipes, I. gracilipes, I. flocculosipes, I. flavocrocea, I. rufosquamosa, I. aculeata, I. dulongjiangensis, and I. squamulomarginata. In addition, Inocybe albodiscoides was reported as a new record for China. The study also provides a taxonomic key to Chinese species of Inocybe, offering a useful reference for future identification and classification of the genus in China.

Through systematic and taxonomic analyses, this work clarifies six major lineages of Inocybe represented in the studied materials and significantly expands current knowledge of the genus in China. The discovery of ten new species and one newly recorded species highlights the Gaoligong Mountains as an important but still underexplored hotspot of fungal diversity. With continued field surveys and taxonomic studies of macrofungi in China, more previously unknown species of Inocybe are expected to be discovered in the future.

See the article: 

Ten new species of Inocybe (Inocybaceae, Agaricales) from the Gaoligong Mountains, Southwestern China

DOI Link:

https://doi.org/10.1080/21501203.2026.2678690