Authors: Eliasson, Uno H.
Journal: Karstenia, Volume 40 (2000), Issue 1-2, pages 31-38.
Doi: https://doi.org/10.29203/ka.2000.348
Full text: PDF
Key words: Amaurochaete, Stemonitales, Symphytocarpus
Abstract: The borderlines between the genera Amaurochaete, Symphytocarpus and Stemonitis pose taxonomic and nomenclatural questions due to the limited amount of type material and the variability of the species involved. Details in spore ornamentation lend strong support to the notion that Amaurochaete ferruginea and Stemonitis splendens var. flaccida are conspecific. The ornamentation consists of evenly distributed short-cylindrical processes with rounded tips, and the wall of the spore body has numerous pores 25-30 run wide. Amaurochaete atra, A. tubulina, and A. comata all appear to be more or less restricted to coniferous wood as a substratum. The vast majority of the first two species have been found on wood and bark of Pinus, whereas the much rarer A. comata so far has been recorded on Abies, Picea, and Tsuga. Amaurochaete trechispora is an oddity in the genus, differing in its reticulate-ornamented spores and growing on Sphagnum mats in bogs. A specimen from Sweden is the first record of this species outside North America. A specimen from France with spore ornamentation consisting of pillarshaped papillae with swollen tips may represent an undescribed species of Amaurochaete.