Nemania sp. PL-820725-01

              

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PL820725-01

PL820725-01

PL820725-01

PL820725-01

PL820725-01

Nemania sp. Leroy-820725-01

Stromata erumpent, half-immersed to nearly superficial, weakly effused to linear, rarely uniperitheciate at margin, 2-10 mm long x 1-3 mm broad x 0.5-0.6 mm thick, weakly carbonaceous; surface dark brown to blackish brown, with conspicuous to inconspicuous perithecial mounds, coated with a loose yellowish to beige hyphal layer; interperithecial and basal tissue absent; margin abrupt.

Perithecia obovoid, 0.4-0.5 mm diam x 0.5-0.6 mm high.

Ostioles coarsely to obtusely papillate, black.

Asci cylindrical, short-stipitate, the spore-bearing parts 80-100 µm long x 7-8 µm broad, the stipes 20-40 µm long, with apical apparatus strongly amyloid, inverted hat-shaped, 2.7-3.5 µm high x 2-2.7 µm broad.

Ascospores 12-15.5 x 5.5-6.5 (-7) µm, pale brown, ellipsoid-inequilateral with broadly rounded ends, uniseriate in the ascus, with a fairly conspicuous short germ slit 4-5 µm long on the more convex side.

Specimen examined: FRANCE: Indre et Loire (37): Cravant, bois communaux, 25 Jul. 1982, Paul Leroy-820725-01, on Quercus.

Notes: This fungus is macroscopically very inconspicuous and easily overlooked, but a careful examination shows that its stomata are partially immersed and bear a distinctive yellowish hyphal layer which remains on mature stromata, unlike in other Nemania taxa in which mature stromata are usually naked. Microscopically, it is distinctive in having the combination of short-stipitate asci with a strongly amyloid apical apparatus and ascospores with a fairly conspicuous germ slit located on the more convex side. This combination of characters does not fit any known Nemania species. Unfortunately this fungus is known from only one collection and the wood it comes from has been replaced by a Pinus plantation (Leroy, pers. comm.).