Spiropes clavatus (Ellis & Martin) M.B. Ellis, Mycol. Pap. 114: 25, 1968

Bermudez-Cova, Miguel A., Hofmann, Tina A., Yorou, Nourou S. & Piepenbring, Meike, 2024, Systematic revision of species of Atractilina and Spiropes hyperparasitic on Meliolales (Ascomycota) in the tropics, MycoKeys 103, pp. 167-213 : 167

Spiropes clavatus (Ellis & Martin) M.B. Ellis, Mycol. Pap. 114: 25, 1968

Fig. 7

Isariopsis clavata ≡ Isariopsis clavata Ellis & Martin, Am. Nat. 18: 188, 1884.

Arthrobotryum clavatum ≡ Arthrobotryum clavatum (Ellis & Martin) Höhn, Sber. Akad. Wiss. Wien, Math.-naturw. Kl., Abt. 1, 125: 120, 1916.

Bitunicostilbe clavata ≡ Bitunicostilbe clavata (Ellis & Martin) M. Morelet, Bull. Soc. Sci. nat. Arch. Toulon et du Var 7: 195, 1971.

Podosporium chlorophaeum = Podosporium chlorophaeum Speg., An. Mus. nac. Hist. nat. B. Aires 20: 450, 1910.

Arthrobotryum noz-moscatae = Arthrobotryum noz-moscatae Bat. & J. Silva, Anais IV Congr. Soc. bot. Brasil: 144, 1953.

Description.

Colonies effuse, brown to dark brown or black. Hyphae superficial, branched, anastomosing, septate, 1-3 µm wide, pale olivaceous-brown. Conidiophores tightly packed to form dark brown to blackish synnemata up to 700 µm long, 20-40 µm thick, often splaying out to a width of up to 110 µm at the apex. Individual hyphae straight or flexous, cylindrical, 1-3 µm thick near the base, 4-7 µm thick near the apex, dark brown, paler towards the apex, verrucose, with numerous conidial scars. Conidia solitary, fusiform to obclavate, mostly 3-, rarely 1-, 2- or 4-septate, (13-)18-25(-33) × (4-)5-7(-8) µm, tapering to about 1-1.5 µm at the apex and at the base, pale brown to brown, the cells at each end paler, wrinkled. As seen by SEM, the ornamentation of the spores is distinctly reticulated, with thin to thick networks and no ridges.

Specimens examined.

On Meliola panici on leaves of Panicum glutinosa , Puerto Rico, El Alto de la Bandera, 1913, F.L. Stevens & W.E. Hess, n°4368 (IMI 130764); on Meliola sp. on leaves of Raphia monbuttorum , Uganda, 1915, R. Dümmer, (IMI 102772); on Meliola thouiniae on leaves of an unknown plant, Brasil, São Paulo, 1940, A.R. Campos (IMI 130975, type of Arthrobotryum noz-moscatae ) .

Illustrations.

This species was illustrated by Ellis (1968).

Known hosts and distribution.

On colonies of Meliolales on living leaves of various plants in Argentina, Brazil, Ghana, Malaysia, Puerto Rico, Sierra Leone, Trinidad and Uganda ( Ellis 1968).

Notes.

In the nomenclatural and taxonomic database Index Fungorum (http://www.IndexFungorum.org), the current name of the Spiropes clavatus is Bitunicostilbe clavata (Ellis & Martin) M. Morelet. The genus Bitunicostilbe (incertae sedis, Ascomycota) was proposed by Morelet (1971) to accommodate two species, namely B. clavata and B. linderae , that were previously cited in other genera. Although the publication by Morelet was not available for this study, the morphological analysis of the herbarium specimens (IMI 130764, 130975) revealed that the features of these specimens are consistent with the description of Spiropes clavatus by Ellis (1968). The species has typical characteristics of the genus Spiropes , such as flat double scars (Fig. 7c ) and, therefore, it should be classified in this genus. De Beer et al. (2013) analysed the type and additional specimens of B. linderae (as Graphium linderae ) and concluded that this species should be also classified in the genus Spiropes .

Figures

Figure 7. Spiropes clavatus (IMI 102772) a conidiophores with scars b conidia shown in optical section c, d as seen by SEM c conidiophore with scars d conidium. Scale bars: 5 μm (a); 2.5 μm (b); 1 μm (c); 5 μm (d).