UNKNOWN HOST. New South Wales, Mosman.

Hymenophore annual, ceraceous, adherent, effused forming linear areas to 15 x 2 cm, with numerous orbicular outlying islands; hymenial surface at first argillaceous, becoming reddish-buff or chestnut, velutinate, at length deeply but scantily laterally creviced; margin thinning out, white, fibrillose, adherent. Context isabelline, 120-150 µm thick, basal layer well developed, of compact mainly parallel hyphae, intermediate layer of erect hyphae closely compacted and cemented, embedding masses of crystals; generative hyphae to 6 µm diameter in basal hyphae, 3-4 µm in those of the intermediate layer, walls 0-2 µm thick, hyaline, encrusted with both crystals and mucilage granules, without clamp connections. Metuloids scattered or in small groups of 3-5, some projecting to 35 µm, usually subulate with slightly inflated bases and long-acuminate apices, or less often fusiform, 40-75 x 6-9 µm, most finely crystal encrusted where exposed, some naked. Hymenial layer to 25 µm deep, a dense palisade of basidia, paraphyses, and metuloids, encrusted with mucilage granules. Basidia subclavate, 16-24 x 5-6.5 µm, bearing 4 spores; sterigmata slender, erect, to 5 µm long. Paraphyses subclavate, 14-18 x 4-5 µm. Spores elliptical or elliptic-obovate, 5-6.5 x 3.5-4 µm walls smooth, hyaline, 0.1 µm thick.

DISTRIBUTION: North America, Europe, Great Britain, West Indies, Australia.

HABITAT: Effused on bark of dead branches.

Specimens match a collection of P. laevis, ex "Sweden, Bygget" in Kew herbarium, so named by H. Bourdot. The species may be identified by the thin-walled subulate projecting metuloids, often in groups of three or five, elliptical or elliptic-obovate spores and absence of clamp connections. Burt described the species under the names P. laevis (Fr.) Burt and P. affinis Burt. Rogers & Jackson (1943, p. 318) have shown the first is invalid, consequently this species, present in Europe as well as North America, should be labelled P. affinis.

TYPE LOCALITY: Vermont, U.S.A.