Rhamphoria sp. P1035 (All Fungi)
Anamorph: not known.
Teleomorph: stromata absent. Ascomata perithecia, 320-450 µm diam, 350-500 µm tall, conic-globose to ovoid, scattered or in small clusters, occasionally coalescing, superficial, not or minutely papillate. Ascomata wall thin, black, leathery to carbonaceous. Interascal tissue composed of narrow thin-walled paraphyses 1.5-2 µm diam, immersed in a gelatinous matrix and at least partially deliquescing at maturity. Asci 120-140 x 23-29 µm, clavate, fairly short-stalked (up to ca 15 µm), the apex obtuse to rounded, rather thin-walled, the apical part distinctly thickened with an inconspicuous truncate-conical J- ring ca 8 µm diam at the base and 5 µm diam at the apex, 8-spored. Ascospores arranged biseriately, 41-52 x 10.5-12.5 µm (mean = 45.7, sd = 0.53, n = 20), rhomboid to fusiform, muriform, with a constricted submedian primary septum which tends to fracture, the upper part with around 6 transverse and usually 2 incomplete longitudinal septa, the lower part with 2-3 transverse septa and usually one longitudinal septum, hyaline, the external wall thin and the internal walls very thin, without a gelatinous sheath or appendages.
Not formally assessed. Possibly under-recorded as the species is inconspicuous and externally unremarkable, but the microscopic features are very distinctive. It is currently known only from a single collection.
East Cornwall (England).
Presumably a saprobe, found on very rotten wood. The plant associate is likely to be either Corylus, Quercus or Salix.