The taxonomy of the Auriculariaceae ( Auriculariales , Basidiomycota ) is revised based on morphological data and four- and three-marker datasets, with special emphasis on the Exidia clade. We argue in favor of retaining Exidia as a large genus, encompassing most species previously relegated to it, with an addition of four effused ( Exidiopsis -like) species. Phylogenetic data allow us to justify two segregates from Exidia s. lato, namely the reinstated Ulocolla ( Exidia saccharina complex) and a newly erected genus Descidia , encompassing Exidia repanda and E. thuretiana . At large, morphological data corroborate this splitting. Exidiopsis effusa , the generic type of Exidiopsis , is typified and redescribed; together with a newly described E. perflua , it constitutes the genus Exidiopsis s. str. The rest of Exidiopsis s. lato species studied by us are redistributed among the redefined genera Adustochaete , Leiostroma , Proterochaete , and Ulocolla , as well as a newly introduced genus, Tegmenticium . Amphistereum is placed among the synonyms of Eichleriella and the single representative of Sclerotrema , Exidiopsis griseobrunnea , is moved into Ulocolla . In total, 52 species are properly redescribed or introduced below, of them twenty are new to science, and twenty new combinations are proposed. Additionally, we detected two single-species lineages: Pholiobasidion senex gen. nov. et sp. nov ., from North America, which is recovered as the sister group to all other members of the Auriculariaceae sampled, and Scrupulispora perparvula gen. nov. et sp. nov ., from Europe.

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The formation of high-quality Chinese medicinal materials is a micro-evolutionary process of multiple genes involving quantitative inheritance under environmental stress. Atractylodes lancea is a traditionally used medicinal plant in China that is broadly distributed and possesses a considerable amount of essential oils. However, to date, limited research has been conducted to characterize the genetics and metabolites of A. lancea shaped by natural variation. Hence, we assembled a high-quality genome of A. lancea , featuring a contig N50 of 1.18 Mb. We further integrated population resequencing of A. lancea and conducted analyses to characterize its genetic diversity, population evolution, and rewiring of volatile metabolites. The natural variation effect exerted significant pressure on A. lancea from different geographic locations, resulting in genetic differentiation among three groups. Correlation analysis of metabolites in A. lancea revealed significant natural variations of terpenoids, heterocyclic compounds, ketones, and esters. We also found that 427 metabolites displayed noteworthy divergence due to directional selection. Additionally, our genome-wide association studies on the metabolome for medicinal quality traits identified several candidate genes, such as AlZFP706 and AlAAHY1 , exhibiting significant correlations with atractylodin and hinesol levels, respectively. Overall, this study provides an intricate genomic resource for A. lancea , thereby expanding our understanding of the effect of natural variation on metabolites and facilitating the genetic improvement of its medicinal properties.

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The diversity and phylogenetic relationships of calcareous sponges are still not completely understood. Recent integrative approaches combined analyses of DNA and morphological observations. Such studies resulted in severe taxonomic revisions within the subclass Calcinea and provided the foundation for a phylogenetically meaningful classification. However, several genera are missing from DNA phylogenies and their relationship to other Calcinea remain uncertain. One of these genera is Leuclathrina (family Leucaltidae). We here describe a new species from the Maldives, Leuclathrina translucida sp. nov., which is only the second species of the genus. Like the type species Leuclathrina asconoides, the new species has a leuconoid aquiferous system and lacks a specialized choanoskeleton. Phylogenetic analyses of the partial 28S ribosomal RNA gene revealed that L. translucida sp. nov. is most closely related to a clade containing the exclusively asconoid genera Ascandra, Levinella and Soleneiscus, and to a clade of the likewise asconoid genus Ernstia. No close relationship exists to other members of the polyphyletic family Leucaltidae, or to any other leuconoid Calcinea. Our results suggest that the leuconoid aquiferous system of Leuclathrina evolved independently from that of other calcineans and that the family assignment of the genus has to be reconsidered. Because the latter requires a more comprehensive family level revision among many genera of Calcinea, we propose to formally retain the genus in Leucaltidae for the time being.

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The tribe Platycarpheae has three species; they are found from South Africa, to Namibia and Botswana. The three species have traditionally been placed in a single genus but were recently divided into two (Platycarpha and Platycarphella). All have ‘‘secondary heads’’ formed by tightly clustered heads on the crown of the rhizome. The three species are easily separated from one another based on characters such as leaf type, head size, style and corolla length, and pollen type. Morphological and molecular data support Platycarpheae as a monophyletic group within the subfamily Cichorioideae but no firm sister-group relationship has been determined. The three species form a monophyletic group on a long branch: Platycarphella carlinoides and Platycarphella parvifolia share more characters and are sister-taxa; Platycarpha glomerata has the largest number of unique features and is the sister taxon to the other two species. The distributions and flowering times of the three species are different. Platycarphella carlinoides is the most widespread of the species and grows in northwestern South Africa, the central highlands of Namibia, and southwestern Botswana; its peak flowering time is March––July. Platycarphella parvifolia is found in north central to northeast South Africa and flowers mostly in August to October, and Platycarpha glomerata is from inland eastern South Africa and usually flowers from November to early February. The biogeographic pattern is consistent with one of a widespread ancestral species that became fragmented by the rise of the Great Escarpment and climate change.

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