here a more close view:

first impression on the slide:

now with 10x:

and asci with muriforme spores:

The IKI reaction of the asci is negative. Size is 130-171x12-15 µm.
I found no free spores, so I measured those that appeared to be +/- mature within the asci: 21-31x9-12 µm.
Paraphyses are very thin and filiforme with small oildrops.

Would Pleospora be an option for the genus?

PS: all micros in tap-water...

Cheers,

Martin

Hi Martin
I have a lot of photos of various collections of such fungi from semideserts. They are quite frequent but I have no name for any of them.

Here is one as an example:
Mongolei, Lonicera microphylla, leg. P. Karasch. Perith. 0.4-0.7 mm diam., scattered. Sp. *23-26 x 11.5-12 µm.

I usually use the name Teichospora for them, but I am completely unaware of how to delimit the genera Teichospora, pleospora, Cucurbitaria etc.

Here is also one, for which I got no reponse:

http://www.ascofrance.fr/index.php?r=forum&page=viewtopic&id=8953&highlight=teichospora#msg8953

Zotto

Hi Martin,
I feel you are not expecting a name for your fungus, it's wise!
The cylindric asci with uniseriate spores are not typical of species currently regarded as Pleospora. Furthermore, pseudoparaphyses in this genus are usually cellular, that is rather wide, 2-3 µm, and septate.
Pleosporales are currently in a terrible mess because none of the morphological characters formerly used to delimit genera proved relevant according to molecular data.
Collected material needs to be described, cultured and sequenced until things are hopefully sorted out with time.
Cheers,
Jacques

Dear Zotto and Jaques,

Thank you for your comments! I was already overwhelmed when I saw the number of plates in Berlese with Pleospora and similar fungi and the number of pages of Wehmeyer's monography. Reading the key in Crivelli's thesis I got hopeless.....

I will put back this specimen into my small herbar-box and devote my limited time to more promising collections. ;-)

Best regards,

Martin

Il faudrait regarder du côté de Lophiostoma compressum. En tout cas, il s'agit d'une espèce de "champignon drosophile", un groupe écologique, formé surtout de bituniqués, qui poussent sur le bois, en regardant vers le ciel, d'òu leur arrive la rosée nocturne. En anglais, je les appellerai "dew loving fungi". Très fréquents dans le SE de l'Espagne et aussi tout le long de l'aride vallée de l'Ebre.
Je vous recommande vivement de consulter: Dolores SIERRA 2006 Contribución al estudio de los Ascomicetes Bitunicados de Cataluña Acta Bot. Barc. 50:5-434. Il s'agit d'une très belle thèse doctorale. Il nous en reste quelques exemplaires, mais l'ouvrage est disponible on-line sur http://bibdigital.rjb.csic.es/spa/index.php

merci Xavier pour ces intéressantes réflexions.
La thèse de Dolores Sierra est effectivement une contribution impressionnante, merci de nous l'avoir fait connaître.
Je l'ai trouvée à l'adresse suivante:
http://www.raco.cat/index.php/ActaBotanica/article/viewFile/59858/102516
Amitiés,
Jacques

Hi Xavier!
Thank you for your proposal Lophiostoma compressum and for pointing me to this interesting thesis!
But I am not happy with L.c. (beeing far from to be familiar with this order or even family of fungi).
If you compare, you will find much differences. I will show you some old beautiful illustrations:

Here is Saccardo's Lophiostoma (Lophidium) compressum:

and here Berlese's view of it:

in both cases the ostioles are very prominent and spatulate. The asci are smaller and the spores have very acute ends, features I can't observe with my material.
When I look to the plate in the thesis of Sierra Lopez (fig. 9, p. 139) this would fit better, as well as asci and spore size. I wonder why it looks so different from that what Saccardo and Berlese ment to be L.c.

Best regards,

Martin