Two new fruit-inhabiting Helotiales species from Australia

[ 73 ] Trans. Br. mycol. Soc. 70 (1) 73-76 (1978)

Printed in Great Britain

TWO NEW FRUIT-INHABITING HELOTIALES SPECIES FROM AUSTRALIA By G. BEATON Eildon, Victoria AND G. WESTE Botany School, University of Melbourne, Victoria Two new species of Helotiales collected from the fruits of native plants are described and illustrated. Bisporella oritis was collected from Orites lancifolia (proteaceae), and Allophylaria atherospermi from Atherospermum moschatum (Monimiaceae). Two small yellow discomycetes were collected from the fruits of two native plant species. Bisporella oritis was collected intermittently over a period of ten years, growing on the dead follicles of Orites lancifolia F. Muell., an alpine shrub belonging to the Proteaceae and growing above 1000 m in sub-alpine woodlands and alpine heaths of south-eastern Australia. The fungus was recognized as a species of Calycella Boud., but Korf & Carpenter (1974) argue that on grounds of priority and synonymy the name Bisporella Sacco should be used for this genus . It is characterized by yellow, turbinate to sub-stipitate apothecia, the presence of undulating, glassy hyphae in the outermost layer of the excipulum and ascospores which are frequently uniseptate (Korf, 1973). Dennis (1956) published a description and key to the four British species. Allophylaria atherospermi is a small stipitate species collected from the fruits of Atherospermum moschatum Labill, the southern sassafras. Atherospermum moschatum is a small tree which belongs to the Malayan family, Monimiaceae, and occurs in wet sclerophyll forests in association with fern gullies in eastern Australia from Victoria to Queensland, The genus Allophylaria is characterized by an excipulum consisting of thick-walled hyaline hyphae which may be gelatinized and lie parallel or at a low angle with the surface of the disk. Dennis (1956) defined the genus as a small group of species with phialeoid or pezizelloid excipulum, nofi-lanceolate paraphyses, and relatively large asci and ascospores . Korf (1973) has included Allophylaria in Cyathicula de Not., which, however, differs in that most of the latter have a toothed margin to the apothecium, smaller asci and ascospores. Allophylaria atherospermi is similar to A . sublicoides (Karst.) Nannf., but differs in the strong bluing on dried asci, the longer ascospores, the germination of spores in the ascus and in its substrate.

Bisporella oritis Beaton sp.nov. (Fig. 1) Apotheciasuperficiales, dispersa; discus ad 1 nun diam, vivus flavus, siccitate aurantiacus; receptaculum cyathiforme, sessile, concolorum, margine rotundato; excipulum ectale hyalinarum, brevicellularum, parietibus incrassatis, hypharum compositum,quae undulatae er ad superficiem angulo magno patentes sunt. Asci clavati, octosporati, 1-, 60-75 x 6'5-7'Sllm, Ascosporae late ellipsoideae usque guttiformes, pro parte maxima oblique uniseriatae, hyalinae, aseptatae, 7~ 'S x 3·S-4Ilm. Paraphyses cylindraceae obtusae, septatae, basi ramosae, ad 2'5 Ilm crassitiei. Prope Mt. Skene, Via Iamieson-Licola, Victoria Centrali, in folliculis Oritis lancifoliae F.v.M., Proteaceae; Holotypus G. Beaton 277a, MELU, Apothecia superficial, scattered or in small swarms; disk to 1 rom diam, mostly smaller, flat or slightly depressed, deep yellow when fresh, drying orange; receptacle cup-shaped, sessile on a rather broad base, at first concolorous with disk, becoming lighter at maturity; margin rounded, slightly inrolled and always visible from above; ectal excipulum a layer to about 40 p.,m thick of hyaline, thick-walled (partly gelatinized), shortcelled hyphae with lumina to 10 x 5 ",m, slightly undulating, lying at a high angle to the surface and terminating in 1-3 thinner, deeply staining cells with lumina to 10 x 2'5 ",m; the ectal excipulum in the marginal and upper basal area arising from parallel, thick-walled hyphae with lumina to about 25 x 2'5 Ilm, forming the inner layer of the margin and contain numerous yellow oil drops; medullary excipulum of hyaline, rather highly refractive, densely interwoven hyphae to 3'5 pm thick becoming vertical and subparallel in the subhymenium. Asci cylindrical-clavate, 8-spored 1-, 60-75 x 6'5-7'5 pm. Ascospores broadly ellipsoidal to pip-shaped, mostly obliquely un iseriate, hyaline, non-septate, smooth, 7-9'5 x 3'5-4 pm. Paraphyses cylindrical, tips obtuse, septate, many with a slightly thickened, contorted terminal cell,

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New fruit-inhabiting Helotiales

branching from the basal cell, same length as the asci, to 2'5 pm thick. Specimens examined. Mt, Skene area, Jamieson-Licola road, Victoria, On dead follicles of Orites lancifolia F. Muel!., 23 Nov. 1976 K. and G. Beaton in G. Beaton 277a, MELU, type; on dead Orites follicles, Mushroom rocks, S. slope of Mt. Erica, Victoria, 1 Dec. 1965, R. Filson 7000 in G. Beaton 277; on dead Orites follicles, Mt. Baw Baw summit, Victoria, 18Jan. 1969, G. Crichton L174 in G. Beaton 277b; Alpine flat, Mt, Margaret, Victoria, Nov. 1965, G. Crichton and G. Beaton.

Intermittently, over a period of more than ten years, this discomycete has been found almost exclusively on seed follicles of Orites lancifolia. Rarely, one or two apothecia may be found on the pedicels immediately below the follicles but there is no record of its appearance on any other part of the plant. It occurs from late spring to late summer in Victorian alpine areas. Because of the confused state of knowledge of the genera either included in or close to Hymenoscyphus S. F. Gray we feel that there is always some uncertainty in the disposition of small discomycetes such as the one described above on Orites. However, we believe that because of the ectal excipulum being composed of thick-walled, perhaps partly gelatinized hyphae lying at a high angle to the surface that this fungus is most satisfactorily placed in Calycella. The paper on Bisporella by Korf & Carpenter (1974) appears to give convincing evidence that Bisporella should have priority over Calycella and therefore we have used the generic name Bisporella for this Victorian fungus.

A110phylaria atherospermi Beaton sp.nov.

(Fig. 2) Apothecia superficiales, dispersa, pallide flava dum viva, siccitate pallide aurantiaca; discus ad 0'5 pm diam, planus; receptaculum cyathiforme vel truncatoconicum in stipite variabile hyalino; excipulum ectale undulatarum, refractivarum ad 6 pm diametro hypharum parietibus incrassatis formatum, quae parallelae ad superficiem receptaculi sunt. Asci clavatae, octosporatae, vivae I - , valde I - in ascis siccis, 150-170x 12-15 pm. Ascosporae ellipsoideae vel ellipsoideaefusiformes, hyalinae, irregulariter biseriatae, etiam tum in asco germinascentes 3-septatae fiunt, 23-30 x 5'5-7'5 pm. Paraphyses filamentosae, septatae, obtusae, aliquot ramosae, 1'5 pm crassitiei. In via Cumberland Falls prope Marysville, Victoria, in capsulis caducis Atherospermi moschati Labill; Holotypus G. Beaton 279, MELD. Apothecia superficial, scattered or in small swarms, pale translucent yellow when fresh, drying

light orange; disk to 0'5 mm diam, flat; receptacle cup-shaped or truncate-conical on a variable, hyaline stalk to 500 pm long by 250 pm thick, base of stalk sometimes bulbous; ectal excipulum a thin layer of slightly undulating, highly refractive, thick-walled textura oblita lying parallel to the surface, hyphae to 6 pm thick, descending into the upper part of the stem and ending in the margin with long, obtuse terminal cells; hyphae in the base of the stem partly interwoven, with the outer layer lying at a high angle to the surface; medullary excipulum an indistinct layer of hyaline hyphae subparallel in line with the asci. Asci cylindrical-clavate, 8-spored, no bluing of pore observed in fresh apothecia with Melzer's reagent but strongly blued on dried asci, 150-170 x 12-15 pm. Ascospores ellipsoidal or ellipsoidal-fusiform, some curved, smooth, hyaline, irregularly biseriate, soon becoming 3-septate, germinating freely in the ascus, mainly from the end cells, 23-30 x 5'5-7'5 usn, Paraphyses filamentous, septate, tips obtuse, mostly unbranched, about same length as the asci, l' 5 pm thick. Because of the strong bluing of the asci in dried apothecia, the early septation of the ascospores and the profuse germination of the ascospores in the ascus, there may be some difficulty about placing this fungus in Allophylaria. However, apart from the above differences, it fits very well there because of the structure of the receptacle and the relatively large size of the asci and spores. This appears to be the most logical disposition until such time as the genus and this fungus are better known. The authors wish to thank Dr Swart for a critical reading of the manuscript, Dr George Scott, Botany Department, Monash University for the Latin diagnoses and Dr Calder, Chairman of the Botany School Melbourne University for making facilities available. REFERENCES DENNIS, R. W. G. (1956). A revision of the British Helotiaceae in the Herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, with notes on related European species. Mycological Papers 62, 1-216. KORF, R. P. (1973). Discomycetes and Tuberales, In The Fungi IVA (ed. G. C. Ainsworth, F. K. Sparrow and A. S. Sussman), pp. 249-319. New York, London: Academic Press. KORF, R. P. & CARPENTER, S. E. (1974). Bisporella, a generic name for Helotium citrinum and its allies, and the generic names Calycella and Calycina. Mycotaxon 1, 51-62.

(Accepted for publication 22 June 1977)