New macrofungi found in Hainan tropical rainforest park

The xylaria indericola, a new species of macrofungi, is found in Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park. [Photo by Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences]

A team led by Ma Haixia from the Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology (TBBRI), the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS) recently discovered eight new species of macrofungi in Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park.

The newly discovered species were given the scientific names of Hypoxylon hainanense, Hypoxylon wuzhishanense, Hypoxylon jianfengense, Hypoxylon chrysalidosporum, Hypoxylon cyclobalanopsidis, Xylaria hedyosmicola, Xylaria indericola, and Xylaria polysporicola.

These new species belong to the Xylariales order, members of which can decompose cellulose and lignin, as well as play an important decomposition role in the tropical rainforest ecological cycle. Three of the new species have antioxidant, antibacterial, as well as antitumor pharmacological functions, and are expected to assist in the development of innovative medicines with further research.

In recent years, team members of the TBBRI have visited Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park many times to investigate its macorfungal resources. They found three new genera and 92 new species, including 22 edible fungi, 71 medicinal fungi, and six toxic fungi, among which there were 13 types of Ganoderma lucidum with great development value.

There are still a large number of macrofungi species that have not yet been discovered, protected, or utilized, with related research still in its infancy, said Ma. The research team will carry out further surveys, discovering more about the species and distribution of these macrofungi in Hainan, as well as contributing to biodiversity and sustainable development.