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Family: Sordariales_family_incertae_sedis
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MB# 128813 TYPE. TANZANIA. Tanga Province, Usambara Mts, Amani, road toward S.W. Alt. 800-900 m., 5°8’ S, 38°37’ E, on a Plumieria acutifolia by a road, 11.I.1971, R. Santesson 23469 (UPS, holotype). Life form. Lichenicolous fungus. Description. [Translated and modified from Matzer & Hafellner (1990)] Thallus absent; photobiont absent. Ascomata perithecoid, black, solitary to several clustered, immersed in the host thallus to prominent. In section ovoid with protruding groups of cells often irregular in outline; perithecial wall dark brown, with several layers of cells, isodiametric to elongated, pseudoparenchymaticous; inner wall cells tangentially elongated, ostiolar cells radiating outward; outermost cell wall often thickest, thickness and pigmentation of cell walls decreasing inward, the center has a few layers of tangentially elongated, hyaline and thin-walled cells with narrow lumina. Thickness of pigmented excipular part: basal 4-7 cells (10-35 μm), lateral 4-9 cell layers (20-60 μm), ostiolar area 5-12 cell layers (to 60 μm). Ascomata ~200-400 μm diam. x 250-450 μm high. Subiculum (crust-like growth of mycelium) distributed in an island shape on the host thallus, covering it and occurring in the area of the button-like “sorale” of the lichen or even covering it, black under the stereo magnifier, individual hyphae are particularly visible in the edge area of the subiculum. Substrate hyphae brown to dark brown colored, transverse and often additionally quarter to semicircular in plane view, longitudinal septate, unbranched or simply branched hyphae with elongated to square, elongated to curved cells, straight to almost rosary-like in outline, transverse walls in those areas with elongated hyphal cells thin (< 1 μm), in those with the square cells thick (up to ~3 μm), in these places individual hyphal members appear to separate from each other, longitudinal walls are single-layered in the light microscope, rounded pores are often found in the sections equipped with longitudinal septa. On the cell wall surfaces (~ 0.8 μm diam.), on hyphae that are not yet too strongly stained, a surface structure (< 0.5 μm high and wide) can sometimes be observed. Hyphae lateral, sparsely attached basally to the fruiting body, (3.5-)5-10 μm thick. Bristles: typical bristles are missing, but free substrate hyphae may be present: brown to dark brown pigmented, transverse septate, unbranched hyphae with elongated cells, missing to numerous, occupying non-apical ascomatal parts, tapering towards the front, outlines smooth to slightly wavy, longitudinal walls made up of 1 to 2 at least 2 layers that can be distinguished under the light microscope, walls often finely warty to ridge-shaped sculpted (elements < 0.5 μm high and wide). Hyphae ~ 6-9 μm thick. Periphyses: septate, unbranched, rarely simply branched, not anastomosing, consisting of short rectangular cells, tapered according to worne, periphyseal edes located directly at the mouth are slightly club-headed and with brown pigmented walls. Lumina 1-4 μm wide. Interascal filaments: septate, un-, rarely single-branched, not anastomosing, far longer than the asci, made up of elongated cells. Lumina < 1-4 μm wide. Asci: functionally unitunicate, slender-cylindrical, long-stalked, not or slightly tapered at the apex, thin-walled, wall not or slightly vertical apically, without apical structures visible under light microscopy, (4-, 6-) 8-spored, spores usually uniseriate, with the first spore mostly containing ascoplasma. Asci (75)-85-195 x 8-12 μm in size. Ascospores: usually 2-celled (with a non-median transverse septum), but not too rarely also 1- or 3-celled, not constricted at the septa, septa usually curved when viewed from above and sometimes almost drawn in longitudinally, spores rounded to mostly elliptical, young hyaline, dark brown at maturity, spore wall smooth, not halonate, with rounded germ pores (diameter approx. 0.8 μm), usually 1 germ pore at each spore end, additional ones on the surfaces are possible, spores outside of asci are usually elliptical, those within asci are often rounded and flattened on the contact surfaces. Ascospores are (10)-11-13.1-16-(20) x (7)-8-9.0-10 μm in size, length-width ratio 1.5. Iodine reaction: all parts negative. Host and habitat: On thalli of Ochrolechia spp; North Carolina specimens found sparsely on O africana, particularly on ascomatal rims and thallus edges (Lendemer & Harris 2014). Distribution. East Africa, coastal southeastern North America; in North Carolina found in the Coastal Plain ecoregion. Literature Lendemer, J. C. & R. C. Harris (2014) Studies in Lichens and Lichenicolous Fungi No. 17 – Notes on Lichens from the Coastal Plain of Southeastern North America. Opuscula Philolichenum 13: 8-19. Matzer, M. & J. Hafellner (1990) Eine Revision der lichenicolen Arten der Sammelgattung Rosellinia (Ascomycetes). Bibliotheca Lichenologica 37: 1-138 (original description). |