Submitted 4 January 2021, Accepted 15 March 2021, Published 25 March 2021 Corresponding Author: Lumyong S. – e-mail – scboi009@gmail.com, Hyde K.D. – e-mail – kdhyde3@gmail.com 163 Morpho-molecular taxonomic studies reveal a high number of endophytic fungi from Magnolia candolli and M. garrettii in China and Thailand de Silva NI 1,2,6,7 , Maharachchikumbura SSN 4 , Thambugala KM 5,11 , Bhat DJ 8 , Karunarathna SC 2,6,9,12,13 , Tennakoon DS 7,10 , Phookamsak R 2,6,9,12,13 , Jayawardena RS 7,10 , Lumyong S 1,2,3 , Hyde KD 1,6,7,9,10 1 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 Thailand 2 Research Center of Microbial Diversity and Sustainable Utilization, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 Thailand 3 Academy of Science, Royal Society of Thailand, Bangkok 10300, Thailand 4 School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, People’s Republic of China 5 Department of Plant and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Kelaniya, Sri Lanka 6 CAS Key Laboratory for Plant Biodiversity and Biogeography of East Asia (KLPB), Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Science, Kunming 650201, Yunnan, People’s Republic of China 7 Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, 57100, Thailand 8 Formerly, Department of Botany, Goa University, Goa, India; No. 128/1 –J, Azad Housing Society, Curca, P.O. Goa Velha, 403108, India 9 East and Central Asia Regional Office, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Kunming 650201, Yunnan, P.R. China 10 School of Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, 57100, Thailand 11 Genetics and Molecular Biology Unit, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Gangodawila, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka 12 Honghe Center for Mountain Futures, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Honghe County, Yunnan, People’s Republic of China 13 Centre for Mountain Futures (CMF), Kunming Institute of Botany, Kunming 650201, Yunnan, People’s Republic of China de Silva NI, Maharachchikumbura SSN, Thambugala KM, Bhat DJ, Karunarathna SC, Tennakoon DS, Phookamsak R, Jayawardena RS, Lumyong S, Hyde KD 2021 – Morpho- molecular taxonomic studies reveal a high number of endophytic fungi from Magnolia candolli and M. garrettii in China and Thailand. Mycosphere 11(1), 163–237, Doi 10.5943/mycosphere/12/1/3 Abstract Endophytic fungi are internal inhabitants of plant tissues that do not apparently cause harm to the host. Ecologically they provide a number of benefits to the plants by decreasing herbivory, increasing drought and disease resistance and enhancing the growth of plants. Endophytes have emerged as an exciting research topic as they have the potential to provide numerous metabolites with different biological activities. This study is focused on taxonomic novelties and new host or geographical records of endophytic fungi associated with Magnolia candolli collected from Yunnan Province, China and M. garrettii from Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. Magnolia plants are economically important and used in furniture, ornamental plants in gardens, temple trees, flowers for decorations and valuable medicine in China. In this study, 56 fungal endophytic isolates were obtained from Magnolia species, of which 54 belong to ascomycetes and two to basidiomycetes. The 56 endophytic fungal isolates were identified in 31 taxa that are distributed in eight orders, ten Mycosphere 12(1): 163–237 (2021) www.mycosphere.org ISSN 2077 7019 Article Doi 10.5943/mycosphere/12/1/3