Cudonia gracilistipitata H.L. Su, K.D. Hyde & Q. Zhao

Cudonia gracilistipitata H.L. Su, K.D. Hyde & Q. Zhao , in Hyde et al., Mycosphere 15(1): 1360 (2024) (Fig. 2)

Description: —Ascomata gregarious, apothecia 2–4 cm in height, up to about 1 cm in diameter. Pileus faint yellow (#e3c996), long saddle-shape, smooth, up to 0.5–1 cm diameter, with a slightly depressed center and strongly inwardcurl margin, crisp when dry. Stipe color slightly deeper than the pileus, with distinct and sparse longitudinal stripes, long clavate, gradually becoming thicker from top to bottom, up to 3–6 cm long.

Hymenium 88–223 μm ( x = 157 μm, n = 23) thick, surface smooth, hyaline. Medullary excipulum 357–511 μm ( x = 409 μm, n = 13) thick, hyaline, thin-walled, textura porrecta hyphae 3.4–7.2 μm ( x = 5.6 μm, n = 12) diameter. Ectal excipulum 39–64 μm ( x = 51 μm, n = 17) thick, hyaline, thick-walled, with textura angularis, 9.6–32.8 × 2.5–7.4 μm ( x = 18.9 × 4.4 μm, n = 22), irregular arrangement, irregular strip-like. Stipitipellis 19–87 μm ( x = 38 μm, n = 21) thick, uneven thickness, with thin-walled cells of textura epidermoidea, 7.3–20.7 × 1.9–4.7 μm ( x = 13.1 × 2.8 μm, n = 22). Paraphyses 1.5–2.9 μm ( x = 1.9 μm, n = 31) in diameter, hyaline, long and narrow strips, unbranched, aseptate, rounded ends. Asci 71–141 × 7.2–14.6 μm ( x = 101 × 10 μm, n = 54), 8-spored, hyaline, inamyloid, inoperculate, clavate to narrowly clavate, pleurorhynchous, prototunicate, gradually narrows towards the base. Ascospores 42–63 × 1.6–3.3 μm ( x = 53 × 2.4 μm, n = 54), hyaline, uniseriate, clavate, thin-walled, drop-shaped contents, aseptate, with an overall gelatinous layer and prominent gelatinous caps. Ascoconidia 2.6–3.5 × 1.8–2.6 μm ( x = 3.1 × 2.2 μm, n = 23), hyaline, broadly ellipsoid to lacrymoid, sometimes replacing the ascospores and filling the asci.

Material examined: — Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture , Yunnan, China, on the ground with humus, 2,123 m, Song-Ming Tang, Rui-Yu Li and Guo Zhao, 8 September 2024, HKAS 147012 ; ibid., 2,092 m, Song-Ming Tang, Rui-Yu Li and Guo Zhao, 8 September 2024 HKAS 147013 .

Notes: — Cudonia gracilistipitata was described by Hyde et al. (2024) and is reported for the first time in Yunnan. In this study, this species characterized by saddle-shaped, grey pileus with a gradually thinning margin and elongated and thinner stipes. Sequence comparison for the ITS region between C. gracilistipitata ( HKAS 147012) and C. gracilistipitata ( HKAS 129662) showed a 0.66% differences (3/452 bp, excluding gaps), thus we considered them as the same species.