| Summary: | Species of genus <i>Otidea</i> previously reported in China are mainly distributed in the northeast, northwest and southwest regions of China, but the species diversity of <i>Otidea</i> in north China is not very clear. In this study, newly collected <i>Otidea</i> specimens from northern China and some herbarium specimens deposited in three important Chinese fungus herbaria (HMAS, HKAS, HMJAU) were studied using morphological and phylogenetic methods. The internal transcribed spacers of the nrDNA (ITS), the nrRNA 28S subunit (nrLSU), the translation elongation factor 1-alpha (<i>tef1-</i><i>α</i>), and the second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (<i>rpb2</i>), were employed to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships between <i>Otidea</i> species. Results identified 16 species of <i>Otidea</i>, of which seven new species are described, namely <i>O.</i><i>aspera</i>, <i>O.</i><i>cupulata</i>, <i>O. filiformis</i>, <i>O.</i><i>khakicolorata</i>, <i>O. parvula</i>, <i>O.</i><i>plicara</i> and <i>O.</i><i>purpureobrunnea</i>. <i>Otidea bicolor</i> and <i>O. pruinosa</i> are synonymized as <i>O. subpurpurea</i>. Two species, <i>O. mirabilis</i> and <i>O. nannfeldtii</i>, are being reported for the first time in China. The occurrence of <i>O. bufonia</i>, <i>O. leporina</i> and <i>O. onotica</i> are confirmed by molecular data in China.
|
|---|