Revealing Brownish Mycena Diversity in China: New Discoveries and Taxonomic Insights

Within the genus , species exhibiting brownish basidiomata present considerable challenges in identification due to similar coloration. This study underscores the significance of pileipellis types and cheilocystidia characteristics as critical in delimiting brownish species. To clarify the principal taxonomic characters and their utility in distinguishing between brownish species, a morphological taxonomy and phylogenetic analysis were performed. Five new species from China were introduced and characterized through a comprehensive morphological anatomy and phylogenetic substantiation: sp. nov., sp. nov., sp. nov., sp. nov., and sp. nov. Discussions of these taxa are supplemented with morphological illustrations. The phylogenetic relationships were inferred using Bayesian Inference and Maximum Likelihood methods based on sequences from the internal transcribed spacer and the large subunit regions of nuclear ribosomal RNA. With the addition of these five new species, the worldwide count of brownish increases to 94, and a key to the 29 known species of brownish from China is presented.