Flora of New Zealand Series

Description : Lichenicolous. Parasymbiontic on Pseudocyphellaria and Lobaria (thalli and apothecia), forming black, setose ascomata. Perithecia superficial, uniloculate, perithecioid, scattered, arising singly or rarely in groups of 2–3(–7), black, globose and very often collapsed, ostiolate, setose, mainly on whole surface of perithecia or particularly around the ostiole, (80–)120–280 μm diam. Setae numerous (20 or more), dark-brown, simple, straight or subarcuate, smooth-walled, thick-walled, 18–36 × 2.5–5.5 μm walls 6–16 μm thick, pseudoparenchymatous, composed of 3–4 layers of cells, brown-blackish, K+ greenish. Paraphyses absent. Asci very numerous, arising in fascicles from the base of the perithecial cavity, narrowly cylindrical to cylindrical, with 8 ascospores arranged in 1(–2) lines, (40–)54–63 × 5.5–6.5(–7) μm. Ascospores ellipsoidal, 1-septate, slightly constricted at septa, the cells sometimes rather unequal, hyaline, smooth-walled, 0–4-guttulate, 6–11(–12) × (1.5–) 2–3.5(–4) μm.

N: Wellington. On a specimen of P. coronata collected by William Stephenson in 1843–44 and No 40 of his collected New Zealand Plants (BM). Known also from Papua New Guinea, and Tasmania (Kondratyuk 1996).

Australasian

Host : Pseudocyphellaria coronata.

Illustrations : Kondratyuk (1996: 99, fig. 4; 100, fig. 5).

* Wentiomyces tatjanae is characterised by: the lichenicolous habit (host, Pseudocyphellaria coronata); the black, setose perithecia; and colourless, ellipsoidal, 1-septate ascospores, 6–11(–12) × (1.5–)2–3.5(–4) μm.