sp. nov., an anamorphic yeast species isolated from plant leaves.

Two red yeast strains, NYNU 232201 and NYNU 232218, were isolated from the phylloplane of and , respectively, in Sifangjing Village, Pingtang County, Guizhou Province, China. Molecular phylogenetic analyses placed these strains in close relation to , and . Genetically, the isolates differed from the type strains of these related species by seven to nine base substitutions (1.2-1.5%) in the D1/D2 domain and by more than 15 base mismatches (2.6%) in the internal transcribed spacer region. Phenotypically, the two strains can be distinguished from and by their ability to assimilate d-glucosamine and grow at 30 °C, as well as their inability to assimilate ribitol. Physiological data for were not available for comparison. No sexual morph was observed in either strain. Based on molecular and phenotypic differentiation, the novel yeast species sp. nov. is proposed with holotype CICC 33601 (MycoBank MB 857729).