Orbilia jugulospora Baral, 2014

Quijada, Luis, Baral, Hans-Otto, Jaen-Molina, Ruth, Weiss, Michael, Castells, Juli Caujapé- & Beltrán-Tejera, Esperanza, 2014, Phylogenetic and morphological circumscription of the Orbilia aurantiorubra group, Phytotaxa 175 (1), pp. 1-18 : 10-11

Orbilia jugulospora Baral , spec. nov. (Fig. 6) MycoBank MB 806132

Differt ab Orbilia aurantiorubra ascosporis et corpusculis refringentibus angustioribus, excipulo ectali refractivis corpusculis refractivis solubilibus falcatis vel circuliformibus.

Type:— AFRICA. ETHIOPIA. Oromia: on unindentified angiosperm bark, 2520 m, 22 December 2009, Lindemann 9239 (holotype herb. Baral!, isotype M!) .

Apothecia rehydrated (0.2–)0.3–0.7(–0.8) mm diam., 0.15–0.2 mm high (receptacle 0.11 mm), bright orange(- ochraceous) or rose(–pink), (semi-)translucent, round, scattered to gregarious; disc flat, margin distinct, not protruding, smooth; sessile or with a broad stipe 0.02–0.05 × 0.28 mm, superficial; dry bright orange-rose. Asci *46–50 × 4– 4.2(5.5) {2}, †42–67 × 3.8–4.2 µm {1}, 8-spored, spores *4-seriate in two bundles, 3–5 lower spores inverted {2} (often strongly mixed, sometimes some upper spores inverted), pars sporifera *25 µm long; apex (†) strongly truncate. Ascospores *10.5–12(–13) × (1–)1.1–1.2(–1.3) µm {2}, †10–12 × 0.9–1.1 µm {2}, narrowly fusiform, apex acute to acuminate, base narrowed in a tail with rounded, very slightly inflated end, strongly curved (helicoid), near base hook-like; SBs *3.5–4.5 {2} × 0.3–0.5 {2} or 0.5–0.8 µm, subulate, straight. Paraphyses apically slightly to medium clavate-capitate, terminal cells *26–27 × 3–4 µm {2}, lower cells *5.5 × 1.5–1.7 µm {2}; unbranched at upper septum, hymenium pale orange. Medullary excipulum hyaline to pale orange, 30–50 µm thick, of loose to dense textura intricata with inflated cells, sharply delimited from ectal excipulum (at mid flanks by a t. porrecta). Ectal excipulum pale orange, of (*) thin-walled, vertically oriented textura globulosa-angularis(-prismatica) from base to margin, 70–110 µm thick near base, cells *9–14 × 6–10 µm {2}; 20 µm thick at flanks, 15–20 µm at margin, oriented at a 50–80° angle to the surface, marginal cortical cells *7.5–10 × 3.5–5 µm {2}; glassy processes absent. Anchoring hyphae medium abundant, *1.8–2.5 µm wide, walls 0.2 µm thick {2}. SCBs globose, in paraphyses 1.5–2.4 µm diam, in basal and marginal ectal excipulum 2.5–3 µm diam., here also rod- to sickle- (half-moon) or ring-shaped {2}, medium to strongly refractive, subhyaline; LBs in ectal excipular cells at lower flanks 0.2–0.4 µm diam, in groups, bright yelloworange. Exudate over paraphyses 0.2–2 µm thick, cloddy-continuous to granular, very pale yellowish, firmly attached, over margin and flanks 1–2.5 µm thick, cloddy.

Etymology:— Named after the very acute, spiky spore apex.

Distribution and ecology:— On medium decayed bark of ± xeric, corticated branches of unidentified angiosperms in a subtropical evergreen, predominantly broad-leaved subafromontane forest in the central plateau of the Ethiopian highlands, and in a subtropical evergreen, broad-leaved forest in Southeastern Asia. Phenology: unknown. Desiccation tolerance: ± fully viable for 3 weeks.

Other material examined:— ASIA. TAIWAN. Taipei: Wen Shan Qu , on unidentified angiosperm bark, 30 m, 27 September 1998, Kirschner (herb. Kirschner 405!, duplic herb. Baral 6250!) .

FIGURE. Morphological characteristics of Orbilia jugulospora . 1. Drawings for H.B. 9239 (ascus and paraphyses, ascospores, ectal excipulum at flanks). 2. Drawings for H.B. 6250 (ascus apex, ascospores). 3. Apothecia on natural substrate, scale bars 3a–b= 500 µm. 4. Section of apothecium, excipular characteristics, scale bars 4a–b= 10 µm. 5. Ascospores, scale bar= 10 µm. (H.B. 6250= 3b; H.B. 9239= 3a, 4a–b, 5).