Additional material examined. Same locality as holotype, SAMUELS & al., 24 Aug 1982 (PDD 46956); second collection, SAMUELS & ROSSMAN, 4 Jun 1983 (PDD 46300, BPI, NY).

Apothecia 2-8 cm high, produced from decaying herbaceous debris, scattered, consisting of a cylindrical stalk bearing thorn-like pycnidial projections and 2-3 apical, and 1-2 opposed, intercalary 3-4 mm diam. discs. Hymenium dark brown, becoming nearly black when dry; fringed with regularly-spaced, flat, triangular, dark brown teeth; when fresh flat; receptacle dark brown, surface rugose. Stipe cylindrical, in fresh condition yellow brown, becoming dark brown with age and when dry; surface with coarse warts and scattered pycnidia that appear as acute, dark brown to black thorns ca. 1.5 mm high; terminating in many coarse, unbranched, dark brown to black hyphae. Asci 8-spored, (175-)190-223(-239) x (7-)9-10 µm, cylindrical, base forming a slight foot, wall ca. 1 µm thick; pore J + Melzer's, cylindrical, ca. 3 µm long x 3 µm wide; ascospores forming in the apical ca. 120 µm of the ascus. - Ascospores (16-)22-28.8(-38) x (7-)7.6-9(-10) µm, obliquely uniseriate with overlapping ends; at first hyaline, becoming light brown within the ascus, fusiform with subacute to acute ends, with scattered, 1-1.5 µm diam. warts. Paraphyses 10-20 µm longer than asci, consisting of a ca. 3 µm wide stalk and a clavate to subglobose, 7-10 µm wide tip; hyaline, unbranched or infrequently branched near the apex, septate, cells 20-40 µm long; tips of paraphyses encrusted in amorphous brown material, forming a pseudoepithecium. - Subhymenium 50-80 µm wide, not staining in Melzer's reagent, consisting of compacted, intertwined, 3-8 µm wide, smooth, light brown hyphae; depositions of brown pigment scattered in the subhymenium. Medullary excipulum well developed, not delimited from the ectal excipulum, not staining in Melzer's reagent, consisting of tightly compacted, nearly circular, 10-15 µm diam. cells with walls ca. 1.5 µm thick, immediately below the subhymenium; cells of medullary excipulum gradually becoming vertically elongated, 20-40 x 10-15 µm with walls ca. 1.5 µm thick and merging with the cells of the stipe. Ectal excipulum consisting of a single region of cells 125-200 µm wide along flanks, narrowing to ca. 60 µm along the stipe, consisting of textura angularis, cells 25-50 µm across, walls ca. 1.5 µm thick, light brown; continuing outward ± perpendicular to surface of receptacle to form triangular teeth consisting of cingular cells with long axis ± perpendicular to surface of receptacle cells 15-30 x 8-20 µm, walls ca. 1.5 µm thick, brown. - Stipe with sharply delimited, ca. 125 µm wide cortex consisting of vertically oriented hyphal cells 16-25 x ca. 15 µm, walls 1.5-3.5 µm wide brown; cells at surface of stipe joined into scattered warts; medulla of stipe consisting of vertically oriented, hyphal cell, 30-40 µm x 5-10 µm wide with walls 1 µm thick, non-pigmented; stipe circular in cross section. Pycnidia arising along length of stipe, cells at surface of stipe continuous with cells at surface of pycnidium; cells of medulla of stipe continuous with internal tissue of pycnidium; wall of pycnidium ca. 80 µm wide; conidiogenous cells arising directly from cells of the inside of the pycnidial wall, 11-15 x 3-4 µm at base tapering ± uniformly to 1-2 µm wide at tip, sometimes widest in the middle, phialidic, monoblastic, pale brown. Conidia 3.5-5.0 x 2-3 µm, oblong, lacking a basal abscission scar, unicellular, hyaline.

Growing in soil at base of Leptospermum sp. and in decaying wood (? Leptospermum).

Stipites seu stroma recti, bruneoli, cylindrici, 2-8 µm longi x 1 mm diam., spiniferi. Apothecia 3-4 mm diam., terminalia, fasciculata, disciformia, atrobrunnea, merge dentata; dentes et excipulum ectale texture angulari. Asci (175-)190-223(-239) x (7-)9-10 µm, a nnulo iodo coerulescenti. Ascosporae (16-)22-28.8(-38) x (7-)7.6-9(-10) µm, unicellulares, brunneolae, verrucosae. Paraphyses numerosae. Pycnidia spiniformia, ca. 1.5 mm alta, ex stipite exorientia.

On the basis of gross morphology Cordierites acanthophora can easily be accommodated in the genus Cordierites. Whether the species is actually congeneric with other species of the genus is, however, questionable. Apothecial tissues of species of Cordierites (sensu KORF 1973) are ionomidotic, but apothecial tissues of C. acanthophora are not ionomidotic. The large brown, warted ascospores are unprecedented in Cordierites but they are also unusual among the inoperculate discomycetes and give no clues as to the affinities of the species. The ectal excipulum comprising dark angular cells and the pycnidial anamorph argue for the inclcusion of the species in the Dermateaceae rather than the Leotiaceae, where KORF (1973) placed Cordierites. Cordierites, however, is a poorly known genus and in the absence of a critical study of its species, we prefer to refer C. acanthophora to it.

NEW ZEALAND: Auckland, Waitakere Ranges, Waitemata City, off Scenic Drive, Old Coach Road, on ground among moss, SAMUELS & al., 14 Aug 1981 (PDD 46965, holotype; CUP).