Hi all,
I recently found what I think is Byssosphaeria sp. near New York City. I frequently collect B. rhodomphala in many NYC parks, but this collection seems a different to me. For one thing the red pigments around the ostiole are not pronounced--this is a fairly large collection and I usually see some red somewhere. The spores seem quite a bit darker brown with the ends of the cells quite dark brown. I see a sheath around the spores and/or hyaline spore appendages at the ends of the spores. Spores measure 17.5-23 x 5-6µm. Asci about 109 x 11µm. Perhaps I simply collected over-mature fruiting bodies of B. rhodomphala that lost the red pigmentation around the ostioles. But I have been going through Barr's key in her Melanommatales paper (key pictured) and puzzling over other possibilities. Does anyone have any input they can provide? Thank you in advance.
Ethan