Hello Forum:

Attached are some photos from dried material collected Aug 21/12 in New Brunswick, Canada. The substrate is decorticated wood partially submerged in a small puddle adjacent to a stream.

The ascomata are black (fresh and dried), non-stipitate, .25-.75mm dia. The excipulum appears to be composed of circular cells with small cellular protruberences.
The asci are 40-50x4-5u, iodine negative in Lugol's solution, with a rather thickened apical regiion.
Ascospores are 3x2u, hyaline, aseptate and slightly clavate.
Paraphyses are same length as asci but with a swollen (knob-like) apex that is partially covered with a black exudate (possibly internal).

Your help would be much appreciated.

Thank you,

Adrian Carter     

It seems s      

Hans-Otto Baral, 12-10-2012 11:32

Re : Durella-like Disco with interesting paraphyses

Dear Adrian

as you already found out by yourself using my DVD, this collection could well be Patinella hyalophaea, a species that I studied from the Saccardo type from Italy, and which might never have been recollected. Looking forward to study it, then we will see if it fits. The spores you have given are quite small, but not too far from the type.

The genus was thought by Nannfeldt to belong in the Orbiliaceae, but Spooner placed it in the Helotiales, what I also believe.

Zotto