Assessment Notes

Justification

Perplexostereum endocrocinum is a polypore known from Nepal, West Bengal and south-western China, where it is reported to be common. The population size is expected to be above the thresholds for threatened categories and, although habitat loss may present a threat to this species, any population decline is difficult to estimate since there are multiple possible hosts. Therefore, the species is assessed here as Least Concern (LC).

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Taxonomic notes

Perplexostereum endocrocinum is the only species in its genus, created due to its distinct morphological characteristics (Ryvarden and Tutka 2014) and molecular data (Liu et al. 2017).

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Geographic range

The species is generally mentioned exclusively for Nepal, where it has been documented in Yangma valley and the Kanchenjunga National Park (Ryvarden and Tutka 2014), although there are more recent documentations for south-western China (Liu et al. 2017). However, there is also one record of the species in Behala, West Bengal from 1931 (see Banerjee 1935).

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Population and Trends

This species has been documented for two sites in Nepal (in 1850 and 2012), in one site in Bengal (1931) and in China. It is unclear whether all these sites still exist or correspond to mature populations, but the species is presumed to have a wide distribution at high-altitudes in south-western China (Liu et al. 2017). Following Dahlberg and Mueller (2011) guidelines, the population size is expected to be above the thresholds for threatened categories.

World Resources Institute (2023) does not report significant deforestation in the area, but some Abies and Juniperus forests in China have been assigned threatened categories in the Red list of China’s forest ecosystems (Chen et al. 2020). Still, given that there are multiple possible hosts it is difficult to estimate a decline in the population due to habitat loss.

Population Trend: Unknown

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Habitat and Ecology

This species grows on dead coniferous wood. It was found at high altitudes with Cupressaceae in China (Liu et al. 2017) and on Juniperus or Abies spp. in Nepal (Ryvarden and Tutka, 2014). No habitat information is available for specimens found in Bengal.

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Threats

Some Abies and Juniperus forests in China were classified as threatened in the Red List of China’s forest ecosystems (Chen et al. 2020), which could present a threat to this species; but specific threats to this species are unknown.

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Conservation Actions

Protection of appropriate habitat, namely Abies and Juniperus forests, is needed to ensure protection of the Perplexostereum endocrocinum. Search efforts in the regions where the species was found in the past and in areas of suitable habitat are needed to confirm the current population size, trends, and distribution of the species.

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Source and Citation

Cunha, S.P. & Gonçalves, S.C. 2025. Perplexostereum endocrocinum. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T273603455A273893838. Accessed on 23 November 2025.

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• Country occurrence