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Scytinopogon cryptomerioides W.R. Lin & P.H. Wang, sp. nov. (Figs. 2–5) MycoBank no.— MB 835246 Type:— TAIWAN. Nantou County, Zen-Len area (23.45 N 120.68 E, alt. 1500 m), on sandy loam soil, 5 July 2009, W. R. LIN, 0906RK10- 23 (holotype, TNMF28829). The mycelium of the fungi is associated with the roots of C. japonica trees. Etymology:—‘ cryptomerioides ’ refers to the forest habitat of the fungus and growth in association with the roots of Cryptomeria japonica. The DNA of the fungus could be detected in the roots of C. japonica and the fruiting of this fungus is affected by thinning of C. japonica (Lin et al. unpublished data). These results indicated that the fungus grows in association with the roots of C. japonica. Description:— Basidiomes coralloid, up to 50–110 mm in height, branched, tufts arising from a common stem or cluster of stems, white, cream or tan when fresh, rather tough, subcoriaceous, brown on drying, caespitose, gregarious or solitary on sandy loam soil. Stipe up to 10–30 × 1–6 mm, cylindric or sub-compressed, thick, arising from a tangled mass of mycelial strands. Branches dichotomous or polytomous, flattened, generally branched from the base. The mycelium was associated with the roots of C. japonica (Fig. 2B). Hyphal system monomitic; tramal hyphae smooth, thin-walled, colorless, 2–3 μm wide, ampullate at septa, all with clamps. Basidia formed laterally from generative hyphae, with basal clamp (Fig. 5). Basidia 35–42 × 5.5–6 μm, clavate, finely granular-vacuolate, with four conical sterigmata (mostly 3–4 μm long). Cystidia absent (Figs. 4A, 5). Basidiospores (Fig. 3A–B) 4.0–6.0 × 3–3.5 μm, colorless, ellipsoid, echinulate or verrucose with acute warts or spines 0.5–0.7 μm long, slightly angular, inamyloid and cyanophilous. Hilar appendix small, obscured by spore ornamentation. Basidiospore development (Fig. 4) starts with a spherical enlargement of the sterigma apex to form a basidiospore primordium 0.6–0.8 μm in diameter (Fig. 4A). The basidiospore initially grows asymmetrically on its abaxial side (Fig. 4B). The spherical body enlargements, the hilar appendices, and the ornamentation formation of the basidiospore are shown in Fig. 4B–C, the depression of the hilar appendices in Fig. 4D. Habitat and distribution:—terrestrial, solitary, gregarious, or caespitose on sandy loam soil (Fig. 2A). This taxon was collected on the ground in forests dominated by Cryptomeria japonica at an elevation of 600–2100 m. The fruiting lasted for 2 to 3 months. The mycelium was associated with the roots of C. japonica. Lin et al. (2015) found that the fruiting of saprophytic fungi was negatively affected by tree-cutting in C. japonica plantations, whether this is the case for S. cryptomerioides could be the subject of another study. Additional specimens examined (paratypes):— TAIWAN. Nantou County, Zen-Len area, 23°45’ N 120°68’ E, elev. 1300–1500 m, 5 July 2009, 0906RK6-10 (Tunghai University); Nantou County, Zen-Len area, at 23°45’ N 120°68’ E, elev. 1300–1500 m, 5 June 2009, 0906RK6-23 (Tunghai University); Nantou County, Zen-Len area, at 23°45’ N 120°68’ E, elev. 1300–1500 m, 5 June 2009, 0906RK7-1 (Tunghai University); Hsinchu County, Guanwu, at 121°07’E, 24°31’N, elev. 2000–2250, 2 October 2010, 1010WRK-10 (Tunghai University)., Published as part of Lin, Wan-Rou, Wang, Pi-Han & Hsieh, Sung-Yuan, 2022, Scytinopogon cryptomerioides (Hydnodontaceae), a new species from Taiwan, pp. 73-83 in Phytotaxa 552 (1) on pages 78-80, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.552.1.6, http://zenodo.org/record/6673263, {"references":["Lin, W. R., Wang, P. H., Chen, M. C., Kuo, Y. L., Chiang, P. N. & Wang, M. K. (2015) The impacts of thinning on the fruiting of saprophytic fungi in Cryptomeria japonica plantations in central Taiwan. Forest Ecology and Management 336: 183 - 193. https: // doi. org / 10.1016 / j. foreco. 2014.10.022"]}

Key to Scytinopogon species (update from Furtado et al. 2021) 1. Hymenophore becoming more or less minutely papillate or hydnoid.................................................................................. S. scaber 1. Hymenophore smooth........................................................................................................................................................................2 2. Basidiomes light brown to reddish brown when fresh.......................................................................................................................3 2. Basidiomes pure white to pale yellow when fresh............................................................................................................................ 4 3. Basidiomes slender with flattened branches, context dry; context hyphae inflated to 6.0−23 µm diam........................... S. robustus 3. Basidiomes robust with cylindric to flattened and narrowly spathulate branches, context viscid; context hyphae 3.5–8 µm diam................................................................................................................................................................................................ S. foetidus 4. Basidiomes subfragile, reddish brown when dry; basal mycelium absent........................................................................................ 5 4. Basidiomes more robust, pale yellow when dry; basal mycelium present.........................................................................................6 5. Basidiospores subglobose; cystidial hairs on stipitipellis...................................................................................... S. caulocystidiatus 5. Basidiospores ellipsoid; no cystidial hairs on stipitipellis................................................................................................ S. dealbatus 6. Basal mycelium abundant and very compact crystals present, insoluble in KOH; basidiospores nodulose, finely verrucose..................................................................................................................................................................................................... S. pallescens 6. Basal mycelium scant and loosely attached, crystals absent; basidiospores truly echinulate........................................................... 7 7. 1−2-spored or 4-spored basidium................................................................................................................................... S. chartaceus 7. 4-spored basidium.................................................................................................................................................. S. cryptomerioides

Forest management activities, such as tree thinning, alter forest ecology, including key components of forest ecosystems, including fungal communities. In the present study, we investigate the effects of forest thinning intensity on the populations and structures of fungal soil communities in the Cryptomeria japonica forests of central Taiwan as well as the dynamics of soil fungi communities in these forests after a thinning disturbance. Although the populations of soil fungi significantly increased in the first 6 months after thinning, these increases had subsided by 9 months. This pulse was attributed to a transient increase in the populations of rapid colonizers. A multiple regression analysis positively correlated fungal populations with organic matter content and cellulase activity. Thinning initially provided large amounts of fresh leaves and roots as nutrient-rich substrates for soil fungi. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profiles indicated that soil fungal communities significantly differed among plots with 0% (control), 25%, and 50% tree thinning in the first 21 months post-thinning, with no significant differences being observed after 21 months. The fungal communities of these forest soils also changed with the seasons, and an interactive relationship was detected between seasons and treatments. Seasonal variations in fungal communities were the most pronounced after 50% tree thinning. The results of the present study demonstrate that the soil fungi of Taiwanese C. japonica forests are very sensitive to thinning disturbances, but recover stability after a relatively short period of time.