Two new species of the genus Phlebia with tuberculate hymenophore, Phlebia rhodana and Phlebia jurassica (Polyporales, Basidiomycota), collected in the French departments Rhône and Jura respectively, are described and illustrated. The former is recognized by a resupinate, adnate basidiome, becoming widely effused and thick, up to 100 × 15 cm, and 2.5 mm thick; when fresh subgelatinous, ceraceous to subcartilaginous, becoming corneous when dried, with or without cracks. Hymenial surface continuous, smooth, granulose then verrucose-tuberculate with broad warts, or odontoid to subhydnoid with conical, crowded teeth with fimbriate to encrusted bristle apices; in fresh specimens brownish grey, light brown to brownish yellow with rosy or violaceous tints, sometimes reddish brown to very dark chocolate brown, lighter towards apices. Margin thinner, smooth, closely adherent to the substrate, ceraceous or sometimes fibrillose. Context homogeneous, composed of a single layer of densely agglutinated clamped hyphae, with crystalline white deposits up to theapex of the teeth. In hymenium composed of clavate, short basidia, 15-35 × 3.5-5 µm, some terminal dendroid hyphae and rare fusoid elements (cystidioles?). Spores 4.5-5-5.7 × 2.6-3-3.5 µm, shortly ellipsoid or oblong, adaxially slightly flattened, with hyaline, smooth walls, negative in Melzer's reagent. Phlebia jurassica has a basidiome that is resupinate, adnate, subgelatinous to ceraceous when fresh, becoming crustaceous, hard, brittle and with frequently uplifted margin when dried; pale ochraceous to pale brown, with a faint greyish or reddish tint. Surface papillose, pruinose, with more or less prominent bumps; margin variable, often fibrillose. Hyphal system monomitic, hyphae with clamps, those of the subiculum loosely united, irregular, 4–8 µm wide, in the subhymenium 2–4 µm wide and more densely united in a vertical direction. Cystidia numerous, immersed or projecting, 30-110 × 11-25 µm, thin- or thick-walled, stalked, often more or less ventricose and tapering to the more or less obtuse and incrusted apex. Basidia subclavate to subcylindrical, 25-45 × 3.5-5.5 µm, with (2-)4 sterigmata and basal clamp. Spores narrowly ellipsoid to subcylindrical, 4.5-6(-7.5) × (2-)2.5-3.5 µm, smooth, thin-walled, with oil drops, non-amyloid and non-cyanophilous.

A Dothideomycete species, associated with leaf spots of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), was collected from Nakhonratchasima Province, Thailand. A single ascospore isolate was obtained and formed the asexual morph in culture. ITS, LSU, RPB2 and TEF1α gene regions were sequenced and analyzed with molecular data from related taxa. In a phylogenetic analysis the new isolate clustered with Leptosphaerulina americana, L. arachidicola, L. australis and L. trifolii (Didymellaceae) and the morphology was also comparable with Leptosphaerulina species. Leptosphaerulina saccharicola is introduced to accommodate this new collection which is morphologically and phylogenetically distinct from other species of Leptosphaerulina. A detailed description and illustration is provided for the new species, which is compared with similar taxa. The type specimen of Pleosphaerulina oryzae, is transferred to Leptosphaerulina. It is redescribed and is a distinct species from L. australis, with which it was formerly synonymized. Leptosphaerulina species have been linked to Pithomyces but the lack of phylogenetic support for this link is discussed. The character of the asexual morph of Leptosphaerulina, which is similar to Pithomyces, may to have evolved on separate occasions.

The following new species are decribed from Sri Lanka: Heterodermia rubrotricha which is similar to Heterodermia leucomela but with red, K purple pigment on the cilia. Malmidea sanguineostigma, which is similar to Malmidea chrysostigma but has red anthraquinone in the thallus medulla, yellow xantholepinone in the excipulum medulla and smaller ascospores. Protoparmelia megalosporoides which is unique in the genus by the lecideine apothecia resembling those of Megalospora. A key to the species of Heterodermia in Sri Lanka is provided, applying a chemically and morphologically strict species concept.

The Great Salt Plains (GSP) of Oklahoma is an inland terrestrial hypersaline environment where saturated brines leave evaporite crusts of NaCl. The current report examines the fungal community, complementing earlier reports on the bacterial and archaeal communities. Twenty-five fungal isolates from GSP soils were obtained on medium containing 10% NaCl and characterized. Based on 18S rRNA gene sequence analysis, all of the isolates fall within the ascomycetes, with a predominance of Trichocomaceae, represented by Aspergillus, Eurotium, and Penicillium species. Representatives of Anthrinium, Cladosporium, Debaryomyces, Fusarium, and Ulocladium also were isolated. Overall the isolates were widely halotolerant, with best growth observed at lower salinities and no halophilism. The fungal genera observed were all cosmopolitan, without strong specialization. Taken together, these results support the conclusion that hypersaline environments do not have a characteristic community, in contrast to what was observed at the GSP for bacteria and archaea.

Eight crustose lichen species are recorded for the first time for China. The species newly recorded are: Diploschistes hypoleucus, Lecanora epibryon, L. leproplaca, L. plumosa, L. sibirica, L. tropica, Loxospora lecanoriformis, and Tephromela khatiensis. Among those, D. hypoleucus is newly recorded for Asia.

Pure culture is important for taxonomic, physiological and various application studies of fungi. Many protocols for obtaining pure cultures have been reported, of which single spore isolation was used most frequently in mycological studies. However, previously reported methods were relatively complicated and time consuming. In this paper, an optimized protocol of single spore isolation is introduced. Compared to previous protocols, this protocol is favorable in terms of its lower contamination rate, is less time consuming, and requires only simplified procedures with common and easily accessible apparatus.

Scolicosporium minkeviciusii, was newly collected in Italy, and subjected to morpho-molecular analyses. Morphological characters clearly indicate that this species is a coelomycete. Combined maximum-likelihood and maximum-parsimony analyses of LSU and SSU gene sequence data of S. minkeviciusii grouped it in Phaeosphaeriaceae with Phaeosphaeria nodorum, P. oryzcie and Stagonospora foliicola, although the type species of Scolicosporium, S. macrosporium, which has not been sequenced, is considered to belong in the family Pleomassariaceae. In this study, we designate an epitype for Scolicosporium minkeviciusii. The placement of S. macrosporium and Scolicosporium sensu stricto remains uncertain and further morpho-molecular studies are necessary to confirm the taxonomic placement of this type species and to delimit this genus.

The authors present detailed descriptions of microscopic features for some of the more common Russula species described by C.H. Peck from the eastern United States. As a result of these analyses, R. uncialis is confirmed as good member of subsect. Lilaceinae of subgenus Incrustatula. R. ventricosipes, R. pectinatoides and R. foetentula are confirmed as members of subgenus Ingratula, with R. ventricosipes being closer related to the R. foetens-group in the strict sense (= Foetentinae sensu M. Bon); with R. pectinatoides being related to the R. amoenolens group (= Pectinatinae M. Bon) and having a different spore ornamentation from what is usually identified under that name in Europe, whereas R. foetentula is reinstated as a good, American species that is related to the R. laurocerasi-group because of its almond smell. The type of R. modesta is clearly different from what is commonly identified as such and is provisionally maintained in a monotypic subsection Modestinae within subgenus Heterophyllidia. Finally, R. flaviceps is transferred from subsection Integroidinae to Chamaeleontinae in subgenus Incrustatula.