Summary: | <i>Auricularia</i> has a worldwide distribution and is very important due to its edibility and medicinal properties. Morphological examinations and multi-gene phylogenetic analyses of 277 samples from 35 countries in Asia, Europe, North and South America, Africa, and Oceania were carried out. Phylogenetic analyses were based on ITS, nLSU, rpb1, and rpb2 sequences using methods of Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference analyses. According to the morphological and/or molecular characters, 37 <i>Auricularia</i> species were identified. Ten new species, <i>A. camposii</i> and <i>A. novozealandica</i> in the <i>A. cornea</i> complex, <i>A. australiana</i>, <i>A. conferta</i>, <i>A. lateralis</i>, <i>A. pilosa</i> and <i>A. sinodelicata</i> in the <i>A. delicata</i> complex, <i>A. africana</i>, <i>A. srilankensis,</i> and <i>A. submesenterica</i> in the <i>A. mesenterica</i> complex, are described. The two known species <i>A. pusio</i> and <i>A. tremellosa</i>, respectively belonging to the <i>A. mesenterica</i> complex and the <i>A. delicata</i> complex, are redefined, while <i>A. angiospermarum</i>, belonging to the <i>A. auricula-judae</i> complex, is validated. The morphological characters, photos, ecological traits, hosts and geographical distributions of those 37 species are outlined and discussed. Morphological differences and phylogenetic relations of species in five <i>Auricularia</i> morphological complexes (the <i>A. auricula-judae</i>, the <i>A. cornea</i>, the <i>A. delicata</i>, the <i>A. fuscosuccinea</i> and the <i>A. mesenterica</i> complexes) are elaborated. Synopsis data on comparisons of species in the five complexes are provided. An identification key for the accepted 37 species is proposed.
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