Calycellinopsis xishuangbanna W.Y.Zhuang, 1990

Zhuang, Wen-Ying, Luo, Jing & Zhao, Peng, 2010, The fungal genus Calycellinopsis belongs in Helotiaceae not Dermateaceae, Phytotaxa 3, pp. 54-58 : 56-57

Calycellinopsis xishuangbanna W.Y.Zhuang , emend.

Diagnostic features: Apothecia discoid to flat, sessile to subsessile, 0.4−1.2 mm diam., hymenium dirtyyellow, beige to buff, receptacle surface furfuraceous, slightly grayish buff to brownish. Ectal excipulum of textura angularis, 7−35 µm thick (excluding the covering cell protrusions), cells angular to isodiametric, walls light brown to brown at flanks and dark brown at base, 8−15 × 5−13 µm, covered at margin and upper flanks by a single layer of club-shaped, hyaline cell protrusions perpendicular to the outer surface, 8−15 × 4−6 µm; and with a gel layer covering surface of the lower flanks. Medullary excipulum of textura angularis mixed with textura intricate, 25−250 µm, cell walls mostly hyaline to subhyaline, but dark-walled at the attachment to substrate. Subhymenium 0−15 µm thick. Hymenium ca 55 µm thick. Asci clavate, 8-spored, pore walls very faintly blue or J− in Melzer’s reagent, 53−60 × 3.5−4.5 µm. Ascospores fusoid with pointed ends, hyaline, unicellular, 8−11 × 1.2−2 µm. Paraphyses subcylindrical, not or slightly enlarged at apex, 2−3.5 µm at upper portion and 2 µm below.

Specimens examined:— CHINA: Yunnan: Xishuangbanna, Limestone Hill , on thin petioles of an unidentified plant, alt. 650 m, 22 October 1988, R. P . Korf , M . Zang , K. K . Chen & W. Y . Zhuang 215, HMAS 58722 (holotype) . Hunan: Yizhang County, Mangshan Nature Reserve , on large petioles of? Aralia chinesis L ., alt. 1350 m, 14 September 2002, W. Y . Zhuang , W. P . Wu & X. M . Zhang 4241, HMAS 187063 .

The genus Calycellinopsis was previously placed in Dermateaceae due to the presence of brown cells in the ectal excipulum ( Zhuang 1990). In this study, members of the families Dermateaceae (dark cells present in ectal excipulum), Sclerotiniaceae (sclerotia or stromatized tissues present at attachment to substrate, appearing as the dark-celled apothecial base) and Helotiaceae (receptacle surface furfuraceous in certain genera) of the Helotiales , as well as Bulgariaceae (dark cells and gel tissues present in excipulum) of the Leotiales , which share respectively a few morphological characteristics with C. xishuangbanna , were selected to investigate the phylogenetic position of the genus. Two fungi of Leotiaceae (Leotiales) possessing gel tissues while lacking any dark excipular cells in excipulum were used as outgroup to construct the Neighbor-Joining tree. Our result indicates that C. xishuangbanna is closely related to Chlorencoelia torta and Heyderia abietis of Helotiaceae with 100% bootstrap support and divergent from Dermea acerina and Pezicula carpinea of Dermateaceae ( Fig. 2 ). This new finding implies that the genus Calycellinopsis should be removed from Dermateaceae , even though it possesses dark cells in the ectal excipulum, and transferred to Helotiaceae of the Helotiales .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Neighbor-Joining tree of selected genera of the Helotiales showing taxonomic or phylogenetic position of Calycellinopsis, with Bisporella citrina and Leotia lubrica as outgroup.