Two new Periconia species (Pleosporales, Ascomycota) in China

During an investigation of fungal diversity in Guangxi and Yunnan provinces, two interesting hyphomycetes were collected and isolated. Based on morphology, these hyphomycetes were similar to Periconia-like taxa. To confirm their classification, morphological characterization and multigene phylogenetic inference (using LSU, ITS, SSU, and tef1-α) were employed. Based on phylogenetic analyses, our two collections clustered within Periconia (Periconiaceae) as distinct two taxa, and morphological analyses also confirmed that they are new species of Periconia. Periconia guangxiense sp. nov. formed a well-supported monophyletic lineage (92% ML/1.00 PP) sister to P. variicolor, but morphologically, it is distinguishable by its branched, micronematous to semi-macronematous conidiophores. While Periconia xishuangbannaensis sp. nov. formed a distinct lineage closely related to P. guangxiense; it is distinguished by its macronematous conidiophores and dark brown conidia. This study highlights the role of unique habitats in driving fungal diversity and contributes to the taxonomic refinement of the Periconia genus.