PIPERACEAE. Macropiper excelsum: Auckland, Mt. Te Aroha, 520 m. Wellington, Rona Bay, 35 m.

Hymenophore annual, subgelatinous when fresh, horny when dry, irregularly scutellate, 2-10 mm diameter, or somewhat irregular and lobed; exterior surface finely tomentose, radially striate, at first white, drying brown; hymenial surface even, white, drying pallid flesh pink, or plum, not creviced. Context white, drying brown, 0.3-0.5 mm thick, of mainly radiately arranged parallel hyphae compacted and partly cemented; generative hyphae 4-5.5 µm diameter, walls 1-1.5 µm thick, with clamp connections; abhymenial hairs somewhat scanty and brief, arising directly from the basal hyphae. Metuloids arising in the subhymenium, projecting to 50 µm, fusiform, 60-110 x 16-30 µm, crystal encrusted throughout, walls 3-4 µm thick. Hymenial layer to 95 µm deep, a dense palisade of basidia, paraphyses, metuloids, and pseudophyses. Basidia clavate, 60-95 x 14-20 µm, bearing 4 spores; sterigmata arcuate, subulate, to 12 µm long. Paraphyses subclavate, 22-35 x 6-8 µm. Pseudophyses filiform, scarcely projecting, sometimes apically branched, to 4 µm diameter. Spores subglobose or broadly oval, apiculate, 14-20 x 12-14 µm, walls smooth, hyaline; 0.5 µm thick, nonamyloid.
CONIDIAL STAGE. Hymenophore cupulate or disciform, 2-7 mm diameter, attached by a narrow base; hymenial surface pallid buff, or tan, even, or finely tuberculate, sometimes vaguely reticulated; margin raised, acute, entire; exterior cream or tan, finely tomentose, or even. Context cream, to 2 mm thick, composed of several irregular chambers filled with spores. Spores globose, 17-20 µm diameter, walls smooth, tinted, to 3 µm thick, laminated, with 5-7 germ pores, nonamyloid.

DISTRIBUTION: Ceylon, Central and South America, South Africa, Tasmania, New Zealand.

HABITAT: Erumpent through bark of dead branches.

Both conidial and basidial fructifications are present on the same branches in the collection from Mt. Te Aroha, growing among one another, neither exhibiting an epigaean nor hypogaean position. Petch (1926, p. 79) demonstrated with cultures that both are stages in the life cycle of the species. Massee (1888, p. 176) claimed that his genus Matula, based on the conidial stage, produced basidia and figured one basidium [pl. IV, fig. 7] bearing two spores. He placed the species in a new order, Matuleae, which he claimed occupied a position exactly intermediate between the Nidulariaceae and Hymenogastraceae. Spores develop from apices of clavate conidiophores, not basidia, and from an early stage are enveloped in hyphae. When small they become detached and thereafter are nourished by the enclosing hyphae, which appear to act as nurse hyphae, as do those of certain species of Scleroderma. Sometimes hyphal fragments persist, attached to spore walls, giving the impression that spores are warted. Lloyd's four names were applied to different collections of A. hakgallae, as is evident from his descriptions, a sketch of the hymenium provided by Bourdot (1917, p. 656, fig. 937), and examination of an authentic specimen of 'A. capensis'. The sketch referred to shows the characteristic features of metuloids, basidia, and spores. Lloyd (1920, p. 930) noted, when discussing Aleurodiscus capensis, "If this proves to be the same as A. corneus I shall not be much surprised, although on comparison the plants do not seem to be the same, and I am unable to make out crested cystidia in this species". His "crested cystidia" were obviously basidia from which spores had been shed and sterigmata partly collapsed. When discussing A. capensis, Lloyd (1921, p. 1088) remarked "It is the only Aleurodiscus known with subgelatinous texture and cystidia except A. corneus which is probably the same". No reference occurs in any of his writings to 'Corticium' hakgallae, so that it is probable he did not examine specimens or realise he was dealing with that species. Martin (1942, p. 162), W. B. Cooke (1951, p. 208) and Doidge (1950, p. 484) treated Lloyd's four species as synonyms of Cytidia hakgallae. Either the conidial stage of this species, or a closely related one, was described as Michenera rompelii Rick (1904, p. 243). Lloyd (1908, p. 391) transferred it to Matula rompelii (Rick) Lloyd.

TYPE LOCALITY: Hakgala, Ceylon.