Sclerophora pallida  

Thallus: not developed.

Anamorph: not known.

Teleomorph: ascomata apothecia, mazaedial. Stalk 400-700 µm tall and 60-100 µm diam., pale yellow to yellow-brown when mature, darker brown when old, not pruinose, composed of infrequently branched parallel hyphae. Young ascomata yellow-pruinose, the pruina often degenerating by maturity when the ascomata appear pale greyish-brown with a pale yellowish-brown mazaedium, translucent when wet. Hymenium 250-300 µm diam., obovoid to lenticular, with the excipulum forming a distinct yellow- or white-pruinose collar surrounding the stalk at the base of the fertile head. Interascal tissue absent, but the asci and mazaedial mass are interspersed with minute dark yellow crystals. Asci 30-35 x 4-5 µm, cylindric-clavate, short-stalked, thin-walled and evanescent, without apical structures, 8-spored. Ascospores arranged partially uniseriately or biseriately, 7-8 µm diam., ± globose but rather variable in shape, hyaline (pale brown en masse), with an irregularly warted ornamentation. The ascospores are released well before maturity and can appear rather smaller and smoother-walled in young mazaedia.

Chemistry: granular crystals in mazaedium sometimes K+ purple-violet (with formation of larger crystals).

BLS map: here