ADDITIONAL COLLECTIONS EXAMINED: Little Barrier Island E of Auckland, Thumb Track below summit of Mt Hauturu c. 600 m a.s.l. on rotten bark and wood of unidentified dead tree, North Island, New Zealand, 18 Jun 1981, E. Horak, ZT1522, PARATYPE; Urewera National Park, vicinity Lake Waikaremoana, Gisborne District, North Island, New Zealand, on recently killed tree, G. J. Samuels, 26 May 1982, PDD42912.

Apothecia gregarious, scattered or caespitose, stalked, very variable in size but up to 30 mm high when fresh; pileus variably hemispherical, to 4 mm diam. when dry; hymenium to 270 µm thick, totally covering the upper surface of the pileus, smooth, slightly glistening and variably dark brown when fresh, drying velvety black and often mottled white with extruded ascospores; ectal excipulum either plane or umbilicate around the stipe, concolorous with stipe or darker, on some apothecia scurfy when dry, of variable structure and thickness, composed mainly of an hyaline textura prismatica with cells to 35 x 15 µm mostly lying at a high angle to the surface and with a narrow superficial layer of smaller ellipsoidal to irregularly shaped cells and variably distributed superficial hairs, obtuse, 2-7 celled, to 50 x 5 µm; medullary excipulum of interwoven, hyaline, thin-walled hyphae to 10 µm diam. immersed in a colourless gelatinous matrix; subhymenium an ill-defined layer to 35 µm thick of thinner and more densely interwoven hyphae; stipe cylindrical or slightly tapering, some expanded basally, at first white and smooth, drying greyish orange and in some areas scurfy under low magnification, of variable length and to 1 mm diam. when dry, composed of a medulla of a thin-walled, hyaline textura prismatica with cells to 55 x 10 µm and some gelatinous content, and a cortex to 185 µm thick of a more compact textura prismatica with cells mostly c. 30 x 8 µm and an uneven covering of superficial hairs, obtuse, thin-walled, uneven, mostly 2-4 celled, to 45 x 4 µm. Asci cylindrical with a tapering stalk, thin-walled, thicker apically, small pore J + in Melzer's, with 8 spores in a fascicle, 195-225 x 7.5-8.5 µm. Ascospores cylindrical, apically obtuse, tapering basally, at first multiguttulate, most spores becoming 7-septate, 95-115 x 1.5-2 µm. Paraphyses cylindrical, septate, simple or branched basally, 2-2.5 µm diam., tips expanded to 4-6 µm, 20-30 µm longer than the asci.

Apothecia stipitata, ad 30 mm alta; pileus hemisphaericus, ad 4 mm diam. statu sicco; hymenium superficiem tegens, varie fuscum, arescens atrum; excipulum ectale planum vel umbilicatum circa stipitem, cum stipite concolor vel fuscius, ex textura prismatica hyalina formatum cellulis ad 35 x 15 µm magno angulo ad superficiem iacentibus cum lamina tenui cellularum superficialium minorum et pilorum obtusorum 2-7 cellularum ad 50 x 5 µm; excipulum medullare ex hyphis intertextis hyalinis ad 10 µm diam. formatum in matrice gelatinosa; stipes cylindraceus vel attenuatus, albus arescens griseoaurantiacus, gelatinosum continens; stipitis medulla ex textura prismatica formata cum cellulis ad 55 x 10 µm; stipitis cortex ex textura prismatica formata cellularum minorum cum pilis superficialibus 2-4 cellularum ad 45 x 4 µm; asci cylindracei 8 sporas in fasciculo habentes, poro exiguo J +, 195-225 x 7.5-8.5 µm; ascosporae filiformes, finibus obtusis vel attenuates, multiguttulatae, ad 7 septatas transeuntes, 95-115 x 1.5-2 µm; paraphyses cylindraceae, septatae, plerumque simplices, 2-2.5 µm diam., apicibus ad 4-6 µm extensis, 20-30 µm longioribus quam asci.

Apparently not uncommon on various types of dead wood in wetter areas in the North Island, New Zealand during May-July. When fresh readily separated from the other species of Australasian species of Vibrissea by the combination of dead white stipe and variably brown pileus.

Prope Hunua, Mangitangi Dam, c. 300-600 m super mare, regio Auckland, Insula Septentrionalis Novae Zeelandiae, in radicibus arboris mortuae haud agnitae, 30 Jul 1980, G. J. Samuels et P. R. Johnston, PDD 42916.

Specimens examined: Hardy's Gully, Dandenong Range, Victoria, Dr E. McLennan 5930F, 21 July 1951, MELU, type; Lardner's Track, Beech Forest, Victoria, on fallen eucalypt trunk, G. Beaton 14, 20 Aug. 1961; Hordern Vale road near Laver's Hill, Victoria, on fallen eucalypt trunk, G. Beaton, 9 Sept. 1969.

Ascomata superficial, solitary or several arising from a common mycelial pad, stipitate, the whole ascoma parsley green or darker, releasing plentiful dark green pigment into 2.5% KOH; head subglobose or lobed, up to 7 mm diam, totally covered with the hymenium except where the stem is inserted in an umbilicus; stalk up to 1 mm thick, cylindrical or slightly tapering downward, smooth but appearing finely roughened under a hand lens; the whole ascoma appears black when dried. Medullary excipulum of loosely interwoven, lightly pigmented, long celled hyphae to 6 µm diam, becoming more densely interwoven in the subhymenial layer and immersed in a gelatinous matrix. Flesh of stem of pigmented parallel hyphae with cells up to 60 x 8 µm, not clearly differentiated into two tissues on specimens examined, exterior thickly covered with flexuose, septate, obtuse, concolorous hairs up to 60 x 6 µm. Asci cylindrical or slightly clavate with a long slightly tapering stalk, with 8 spores in a fascicle, the small pore strongly blued with iodine, 180-200 x 8 µm. Ascospores filiform, slightly tapering downward, with numerous oil drops, at first continuous but becoming up to 9-septate, 100-115 x 1-5 µm. Paraphyses cylindrical with variably shaped clavate tips, 2 µm thick, tips to 7 µm, septate, branched from the bases, slightly longer than the asci.

Ascomata superficialia, solitaria vel caespitosa, stipitata, melanchlora, 25 mm alta; disco subglobosa vel lobato, 7 mm lato, umbilicato; excipulo gelatinoso; stipes centralis, laevis, atroviridis, 1 mm crassus; asci cylindracei, obtusi, apice per iodinum vix tincto, octosporati, 180-200 x 7-8 µm; sporidia filimentosa, fasciculata, septata, hyalina, 100-115 x 1.5-2 µm; paraphyses filiformes, 2 µm crassae, ad apicem clavatae ad 7 µm crassea, simplices vel ramosae, septatae.
In truncis emortuis, Dandenong Range, Victoria, E. McLennan 5930F, 21 Jul. 1951, MELU typus.

Differs from V. tasmanica in the habitat, by the presence in all tissues of green pigment that is readily soluble in KOH, in the retention of the pigment when dried or preserved in glycerol, in the longer and thicker asci and ascospores and in the uniformly thicker tips of the paraphyses.
This species fruits in moss covered cracks in large, fallen, saturated eucalypt logs. It is a difficult fungus to find with little more than the green fertile heads appearing above cracks in logs against a mossy background.

Collection examined: Tasmania, Marriott's Falls, June 1924, L. Rodway, type.

Ascomata superficial, solitary or several arising from a common mycelial pad, stipitate, up to 14 mm high, fertile head subglobose or lobed, to 3 mm diam, pale green when fresh (Rodway) be coming pale brown on dried specimens, totally covered with the hymenium except where the stem is inserted in an umbilicus, stalk 1 mm thick at the base, tapering upward, pale green fading to pale brown at the apex. Medullary excipulum a narrow band of interwoven, hyaline hyphae up to 3 mm diam. in a gelatinous matrix and merging into the parallel hyphae of the stem which is composed of two distinct tissues - the cortical layer up to 100 µm thick of parallel pigmented hyphae with cells up to 40 x 10 µm, the inner tissues of long-celled very thin walled hyaline or lightly pigmented hyphae with finely granular contents up to 5 µm diam. The stem is covered with a dense layer of superficial, septate hairs, simple or branched cylindrical or with inflated and contorted cells, up to 150 x 9 µm. Asci cylindrical with a long slightly tapering stalk, with 8 spores in a fascicle, the small pore blued with iodine, 105-120 x 4-5 µm. Ascospores filiform, slightly tapering, septate, 1-1.5 µm diam, fascicles not exceeding 70 µm in length. Single ascospores not measured. Paraphyses cylindrical with clavate tips, 1-5 µm thick, tips to 3 µm thick, 15 µm longer than asci, simple or branched from lower third.

This species occurs on fragments of eucalyptus debris immersed in water or lying on very wet ground and is apparently rare in Tasmania and not yet recorded in Victoria.