Apothecia superficial, stipitate, scattered or in swarms, not confluent, up to 10 mm high; fertile head subglobose or lobed, to 4 mm diam., yellow when fresh, drying grey-balck and becoming finely pruinose with extruded ascospores, recovering to slightly darker yellow when soaked, totally covered with the hymenium except where the stalk is inserted in an umbilicis; medullary excipulum of loosely-interwoven, long-celled hyphae, to 6 µm thick, in a gelatinous matrix and merging gradually into the parallel hyphae of the stalk medulla; stalk to 1 mm thick, tough and rather stiff when fresh, cylindrical with a small mycelial pad at point of attachment, dark green when fresh, drying black and remaining so, finely scurfy. Stem composed of two distinct tissues; the medullary tissue a hyaline or pale green textura porrecta with cells to 60 x 10 µm, the cortical tissue to 180 µm thick, of dark green pigmented hyphae with cells to 25 x 8 µm and covered with a tomentum of up to 7-celled, thin-walled, obtuse hairs to 40 x 5 µm, individual cells seldom longer than 8 µm. The whole ascoma releasing a little yellow-green pigment in 2 % KOH solution. Asci cylindrical with a tapering stalk, with 8 spores in a fascicle or distributed throughout the length of the ascus, the small pore J + when soaked in water or 2 % KOH solution, 132-155 x 5-6^.5 µm. Ascospores filiform, thinner at one end, with numerous oil drops, no septation seen, 53-60 x 1.5-2 µm. Paraphyses cylindrical with thicker tips containing one to several oil drops, septate, branching from the bases, slightly longer than the asci, 1.5 µm thick, tips to 3.5 µm, a very few to 4 µm.

Ascomata superficiales, vel dispersa vel aggregata, ad 1o mm alta, capitulum fecundum subglobosum vel lobatum, flavum, ad 4 mm diam, umbilicatus insertione stipitis; stipes cylindraceus, atrovirens, ad i mm crassus, tenax, rigidus, cum parvo acervulo basali myceliali, pilibus ad 7-cellulatis indutus, obtusus, ad 40 x 5 µm; cellulis individuis maximam pattern minoribus quam 8 µm longo. Asci cylindracei, stipitati, cum 8 sporis vel fasciculatis vel per ascum distributis, J+, 132-155 x 5-6.5 µm. Ascosporae filiformes, angustatae, aseptatae, 53-60 x 1.5-2 ltm. Paraphyses cylindraceae, apicibus incrassatis, septatae, guttulatae,1.5IIm crassae, apicibus ad 3.5 µm.

V. bicolor differs from V. tasmanica in having a yellow head, a dark green, stiff stalk, larger asci with non-septate ascospores, and in the much shorter and short-celled hairs of the stalk; from V. melanochlora in not being totally green, in the smaller asci and ascospores and in the thinner tips to the paraphyses and from V. dura in having green pigmentation and smaller asci and ascospores. Vibrissea bicolor is the only Victorian species of Vibrissea found so far that fruits either totally or partially immersed in running water.

Melba Gully prope Laver's Hill, Victoria, 17/1976, G. Beaton 389. MELU, holotypus.