Thanks Zotto.

In many respects my specimen does resemble the collections of Psilachnum lanceolato-paraphysatum that you have described/illustrated in your files. I see that you have images of a collection by Piotr Perz in which the hairs are covered in gel, which seems also to be the case in my specimen.

I'll test the reaction of the medulla to IKI. I'll also have another look at the paraphyses - I think in some cases they were distinctly more lanceolate than the one shown in my photo.

Different descriptions of this species seem to vary in some characters. For example, Raitviir says that asci arise from simple septa whereas other descriptions mention croziers. Spore dimensions also seem to be rather variable.

Marcus

I've been having another look at this specimen.

I was mistaken about the paraphyses. They are lanceolate (not cylindrical), tapered to an acute apex, ca 3 µm wide, exceeding the asci by about 10 µm.

Hairs seem to be narrowly cylindrical, ca 2-3 µm wide, but are very difficult to discern because they are aggregated in a mass.

The medulla appears to be blue in IKI (though I struggled to cut a decent section).

The apothecia are closely associated with a sterile coelomycete/hyphomycete, with brown septate setae, 120-220 µm long.

So Psilachnum lanceolato-paraphysatum seems to be a distinct possibility.

Marcus

 

Thank you!

Marcus