Hi Jason

I looked in the protologue where the collector is given as D. Dufour. I do not know the full name, he/she is not in the Author Index of IF. So it can be from everywhere in France? Or even elsewhere?

A bit strange is the black margin of the mealy disc.

Zotto

Hi Zotto,

Thank you for your insights! Yes, I think that "D. Dufour" is Jean Marie Léon Dufour (1780-1865). You can find Dufours in the TL-2 (https://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/tl-2/search.cfm). This is not Léon Marie Dufour (1862-1942) who described Propolis viridis in 1896. Our Dufour collected specimens from a place called St. Sever. I'm not sure where this is in France. I think that if I can get a specimen from Populus nigra anywhere in France that will probably do for a neotypification or epitypification, not sure yet. I'm presuming France because I'm guessing that's where Dufour collected it, but I don't really know. I suppose a specimen from nearby localities might be okay.

The interior of the flaps or covering layer can become very dark in some specimens of P. farinosa - often in mature specimens where the periphysoids have deteriorated. But who knows what Persoon was looking at.

Regarding the black margin and mealy disc. I saw two specimens labeled Stictis farinosa in Leiden. One specimen was typified by Sherwood, but this is not a Stictis (Propolis). It is primordia of some pyrenomycete (perhaps a Dothideomycete) developing on the surface of the wood, not erumpent like Propolis. The exterior of these are highly melanized, with a white stromatic interior. The tops of many of these primordia have been damaged somehow, exposing a white "mealy" disc with a black border. They superficially look very much like P. farinosa, but they are not. There are no asci or spores. Sherwood's typification was tentative. It should be overturned. The other specimen is some crystaline material in roughly the shape and size of Propolis apothecia. These are also without any hymenial elements. I had no other original material in L. There may be material of Dufour's on P. nigra in PC, but I'm not sure yet and will have to wait for someone to help me go over some things that I didn't get to on my trip.

Anyhow, I thought that I'd start the ball rolling on trying to get another specimen.

Got it, thank you Nicolas. Yes, I was assuming that it might have been from St. Sever, because I saw several Dufour collections from there while I was looking at specimens in PC. Since we don't have a locality in the protolog, I think that a specimen from anywhere in France or nearby countries might serve well.

But, as you say, perhaps something from nearby Paris might be better.