绒毛菌属等相关4属真菌是高等大型担子菌中的重要类群，其子实体平伏，呈蛛网状或膜状，担孢子表面具多样纹饰，附着于倒木等枯落物残体上，其中有些种类为腐生类型，有些则在近年来被证明为外生菌根真菌，它们都在森林生态系统养分循环及能量流动中各自扮演重要角色。该类群真菌全球共描述140余种，多数来自欧亚及北美大陆的寒温带森林生态系统，我国仅记载4种。我国森林类型多样，该类群真菌资源丰富，对其进行全面系统的研究在分类学、生态学和生物技术等领域都具有重要意义。本项目拟广泛采集我国该类群真菌，结合形态学与多基因序列进行全面系统研究，描述新分类单元，明确各属种的系统发育地位及相互关系，评价属种划分标准与分类框架，寻找更合理的分类特征和依据，建立更趋科学、符合自然的分类系统。预期研究结果将对我国绒毛菌属及相关类群的物种多样性、地理分布和分子系统发育关系有一个全新认识，为我国真菌资源的保护和利用提供科学理论依据。

Tomentella and related 4 genera are the important group in higher macro-basidiomycetes. Species in this group have resupinate fruit bodies which appear arachnoid or pelliculose, and basidiospores with diverse ornaments on surface. Tomentelloid fungi usually inhabit on fallen trunk, or thin- to coarse wood debris. Some of them are saprotrophic species, and the others are proved to be the ectomycorrhizal fungi recently. They are playing the key roles respectively on nutrition cycling and energy flow in forest ecosystems. More than 140 species have been legitimately published hitherto known in the world, and most of them were described from boreal-temperate forest ecosystem of Eurasia and North America. China spans a huge geographical area with diverse forest types, and is very rich for wood inhabiting fungi. However, only 4 tomentelloid species recorded in China. Thus, the comprehensive study on the group of fungi in China has academic and application value. The research will be carried out based on the specimens that have been reserved in the herbarium and will be widely collected. The anatomical method combined with molecular analysis will be employed during the systematic studies. The purposes of the study are to describe the new taxonomic units, clarify the phylogenetic status of the species and relationship among the species of tomentelloid group, evaluate the classification standard and framework, explore the proper taxonomic characteristics, and try to establish the scientific and natural taxonomic system. The expected results will provide a new understanding on species diversity, geographical distribution and molecular phylogeny for Tomentella and related 4 genera in China, and provide scientific theory basis for conservation and utilization of the fungal resources.