Update on the taxonomy of Clavulina in China I: description of three new species and one newly recorded species

Specimens of three newly discovered species of Clavulina, and the previously described species Clavulina thindii, were collected during field surveys in southwestern China. The specimens were used for examination of morphological characters and DNA extraction for molecular phylogenetic analyses. Phylogenetic analysis of concatenated sequences for the nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer region, nuclear ribosomal RNA large subunit, and the RNA polymerase II subunit B gene revealed that the three new species each formed a distinct lineage in the Clavulina clade. The samples of C. thindii from China and India formed a monophyletic lineage. The three new species are formally described here. Clavulina curva has noticeably distorted basidiomata, C. spina has uniform spines on the basidioma surface, and C. yunnanensis has brownish gray to dark black-brown stipes, with rare longitudinal corrugations and bristles. A key to all Clavulina species recorded in China, and descriptions of the macromorphology, micromorphology, and habitat for the four Clavulina species treated herein, are provided.