Nigrograna acericola W. L. Li & Jian K. Liu, Mycosphere, 14 (1): 1496–1500 (2023)

Fig. 4

Description.

Saprobic on dead branches of Gymnosporia acuminata ( Celastraceae). Sexual morph: Ascomata 524–647 × 341–475 μm (x ̅ = 586 × 424 μm, n = 20), solitary, scattered, immersed, ostiolar necks visible on the host surface or erumpent, subglobose to ellipsoid, coriaceous, brown to dark brown, with an ostiole. Ostioles 86–138 μm long, 64–119 μm wide (x ̅ = 113 × 96 μm, n = 20), mostly central, some eccentric, with a crest-like apex, central, filled with hyaline periphyses. Peridium 15–58 μm (x ̅ = 40 μm, n = 20) μm wide, composed of 4–5 layers of flattened, brown to dark brown, thin-walled cells of textura angularis, the inner layer is dense, the outer layer sparse. Hamathecium 1.5–3 μm (x ̅ = 2 μm, n = 20) wide, composed of numerous, filamentous, hyaline, unbranched pseudoparaphyses. Asci 70–87 × 12–14 μm (x ̅ = 77 × 13 μm, n = 30), 8 - spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, cylindrical to clavate, short pedicellate, apically rounded, with a minute ocular chamber. Ascospores 16–19 × 5–7 μm (x ̅ = 17 × 6 μm, n = 50), 1–2 - seriate, biseriate or partially overlapping, fusoid to ellipsoid, with obtuse ends, tapering towards the ends, guttulate, smooth-walled, 1 - septate, subhyaline to yellowish-brown when young; becoming 3 - septate, slightly constricted at the middle septum, brown to dark brown when mature, without appendages. Asexual morph: Undetermined.

Culture characteristics.

Ascospores germinated on PDA within 24 h, and germ tubes produced from basal cell. Colonies growing on PDA reached 38–40 mm in diameter after three weeks at 25 ° C in dark, white in the whole colony from above, circular, edge entire, margin well-defined; in reverse, light brown in the center, olive gray at the margin, no pigmentation on PDA.

Material examined.

China • Yunnan Province, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Mengla County, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences. 21°55'54′′N, 101°15'16′′E, elevation 511 m, on dead branches of medicinal plant Gymnosporia acuminata Hook. f. ( Celastraceae), 10 November 2022, H. Z. Du, D 03 (HUEST 23.0208), living culture UESTCC 23.0208 ; ibid., Sichuan Province, Zigong City, Rong County, 29°29'1"N, 104°14'19"E, elevation 850 m, on dead branches of medicinal plant Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Ktze . ( Theaceae), 3 November 2022, Y. H. Lu & Y. Xiao, CS 11 (HUEST 23.0191), living culture UESTCC 23.0191 .

Notes.

Nigrograna acericola was introduced by Li et al. (2023) from Acer truncatum ( Aceraceae) in China. Our collections are identical to N. acericola based on morphology and phylogeny. We reported it as new host records from Camellia sinensis and Gymnosporia acuminata in China.