Kretzschmaria deusta (Hoffm.: Fr.) P. Martin

TELEOMORPH | CULTURES AND ANAMORPH | SPECIMENS EXAMINED | NOTES

NOTES

Kretzschmaria deusta is mainly distributed in northern temperate regions. Tropical collections that have been identified as this fungus are mostly K. pavimentosa, K. sandvicensis, or K. zonata. Kretzschmaria deusta differs from K. pavimentosa in having smaller ascospores, in having smaller ascal apical rings, and in having thin, sloped stromatal margins; from K. sandvicensis in having smaller ascospores and in having a much less than spore-length ascospore germ slit; and from K. zonata in having narrower, paler ascospores and in having a much less than spore-length ascospore germ slit.

Jong and Rogers (1972) and Petrini and Müller (1986) did not find the anamorph of K. deusta in culture. The anamorph that they described and illustrated was growing on the stromatal surface. The conidial size range was reported as 5-7 x 2.5-3.5 mm in Jong and Rogers (1972) and 4-6 x 2-3 mm in Petrini and Müller (1986). The latter authors assign the anamorph to the form-genus Hadrotrichum Fuckel. Curiously, Martin (1970) described the ascospores with prominent gelatinous sheaths, a feature not observed by us.