Engleromyces sinensis

The fruit bodies of Engleromyces sinensis form two roughly spherical lobes that partially envelop the bamboo substrate. The official description gives dimensions of 4.3–4.9 cm (1.7–1.9 in) by 4–5.5 cm (1.6–2.2 in) and 1.6–4 cm (0.6–1.6 in) in height, although specimens in markets measuring 10 to 50 cm (4 to 20 in) in diameter have been noted. When young, the surface is buff-colored with a pinkish hue and slightly dimpled surface; the color changes to grayish-brown and the surface becomes smoother as the fungus matures. The internal flesh is buff colored, with a firm texture that later becomes woody. The ostioles (minute openings through which spores are released), which are scattered about the surface of the fruit bodies, are somewhat nipple-like when young but later become sharper (punctate). Situated under a crust with a thickness of about 1 mm, the perithecia are arranged in rows. They are spherical to flask shaped, with eight-spored asci. The asci are funnel or T-shaped, somewhat like a golf tee, and measure about 4 by 4 μm. They have an apical apparatus (a region at the ascus tip that forms the spore-shooting mechanism) that stains blue in Melzer's reagent. The smooth, black ascospores are lined up in a single row, and feature drop-like appendages that are visible when still in the ascus. …

Engleromyces sinensis is known only from China, including its type location in Yunnan, China, in Yulong County. The fungus has also been collected from Mêdog County (Tibet), where it was found growing in a coniferous forest. It has been collected at elevations between 2,000 to 3,500 m (6,600 to 11,500 ft). Fruit bodies grow on and partially envelop bamboo culms. Specifically, E. sinensis has been recorded from a species of bamboo variously known as Fargesia melanostachys or F. yulongshanensis, depending on the authority. Engleromyces collections made in Nepal, initially identified as E. goetzii, are likely to be E. sinensis.