Veluticeps microspora sp nov and V-ambigua new to Asia with a preliminary phylogenetic study on the genus

Veluticeps microspora sp. nov. and V. ambigua new to Asia are described and illustrated based on morphological and molecular characters. V. microspora was collected from Yunnan Province, southwestern China, and is characterized by its special anatomical structure (without tomentum, cutis, and subiculum), simple septate hyphae, and small basidiospores. V. ambigua was collected from Jilin Province, northeastern China, and is reported in Asia for the first time. The molecular phylogeny of Veluticeps was preliminarily studied based on the analysis of ITS sequences from 18 species of Gloeophyllales. Two distinct clades of Veluticeps were formed in the phylogenetic tree. While V. microspora and V. ambigua clustered together to form a strongly supported clade, V. abietina, V. fimbriata, and V. berkeleyi grouped with Chaetodermella luna to form another clade.