Based on DNA sequences from PDD 56790 and PDD 56798 (both from Weinamannia litter from Mt Taranaki and matching morphologically specimens from same host and locality identified by Dumont as P. subcinnabarinum), "Poculum" subcinnabarinum has a phylogenetically isolated position within Helotiaceae.

Apothecia sparsa, stipitata, cinnabarina ('English Red' vel 'Dragon's Blood Red', Ridgway), cupula planiuscula, latit. 1-2 mm., stipes subaequalis, altit. 1-2 mm., deorsum leviter flocculosus. Asci cylindraceoclavati, 70-80 x 6 µ, octospori, obturaculo minimo jodo obsolete vel vix coerulescente; ascosporae eilipticae vel clavatae, 8-9 x 2-2.5 µ; paraphyses gracilescentes, crassit 1.5 µ.

The structure is somewhat intermediate between that of an Helotiun and a Phialea, with the flesh composed of slender interwoven hyphae with slightly gelatinised walls, the hyphae becoming almost parallel but still undulating at a low angle to the surface in the excipulum. The red pigment is unaffected by ammonia but completely decolorised by lacto-phenol.

Supra folia Elaeocarpi dentati, Harihari, Westland, 8.11.1954, Dingley 19052 (typus).

Spores 8-9 x 2-2.5 µ.

Holotype. Harihari, Westland, New Zealand, J. Dingley, leaves of Elaeocarpus dentatus, 8 Nov 1954 (K ex PDD 19052; isotype PDD). Westland, Reefton, S. D. Baker wood of Nothofagus fusca, 1 Dec 1952 (PDD 19404); Taranaki, Mt. Egmont, J. Dingley, indet. wood, 29 Jan 1953 (PDD 19403) ; same locality, J. Dingley, indet. leaf, 31 Jan 1953 (PDD 19402).

STROMA. Substratal, poorly developed, difficult to detect on host; evident at base of stipe of apothecium as rind cells; in section epidermoid to irregular in face view, the walls differentially pigmented. Unknown in culture. MACROCONIDIAL STATE. Unknown. SI'ERMATIA. Unknown. APOTHECIAL MORPHOLOGY. Apothecia solitary to gregarious, 1-2.5 mm in diam, to 2 mm high, when fresh flat, English red to Dragon's blood red, drying cupulate, darker deep orange concolorous with the receptacle and stipe; rehydrating slightly convex to slightly cupulate, lighter, concolorous, toward base of stipe, appearing woolly. APOTHECIAL ANATOMY. Asci 8-spored, 67-75(-85) x 5-6(-7) µm, produced from small croziers, cylindrical to slightly clavate, tapering slightly below to the base and there expanded and forming a small foot or not; wall narrow, to 1 µm, becoming thicker at the rounded to slightly truncate apex; pore J+, evident as two tiny blue dots in Melzer's reagent. Ascospores (7-)8-10 x 2-3 µm, biseriate above and uniseriate below or tiniseriate throughout, hyaline, fusoid to clavate to ellipsoid, in outline generally slightly broader at anterior end than posterior, equilateral to slightly inequilateral, with guttules generally poorly defined, rarely with two, tiny, obvious, internal, polar guttules, more commonly with two internal polar guttulate areas; walls thin or Appearing thickened in phloxine stain. Paraphyses equal to or slightly exceeding the asci, very abundant, branching and septate, filiform, not expanded at the apex and there 1.5-2 µm wide, hyaline, smooth, few staining intensely and appearing granular internally. Subhymenium a poorly defined zone beneath the asci, with a zone to ca. 60 µm wide toward the middle of the apothecium and narrower toward the margin, with hyphae narrower and more compact than the medullary excipulum below; composed of narrow, loosely interwoven, vertically oriented hyphae 2-3 µm wide, with hyaline and slightly thickened walls. Medullary excipulum well developed, not refractive or only slightly so in certain areas, consisting of loosely interwoven, branched, septate hyphae 2-3 µm wide, with several coalescing especially toward the ectal excipulum, and with smooth, hyaline and slightly thickened walls. Ectal excipulum: inner ectal excipulum poorly defined, but with a slightly refractive zone of narrow and more compact hyphae between the medullary excipultim and the outer ectal excipulum, the individual hyphae 2-3 µm wide with walls smooth, hyaline and slightly thickened. Outer ectal excipulum highly refractive, tapering from ca. 30 µm broad toward the stipe to ca. 45 µm broad toward the margin; consisting of narrow hyphae 2-4 µm wide, imbedded in a gelatinous matrix, extending more or less parallel to each other or slightly interwoven and extending parallel or at low angles to the surface of the apothecium, the individual hyphae septate, hyaline, branched and lacking roughened or pigmented walls. Outer covering layer poorly differentiated from the outer ectal excipulum, not detaching from the surface of the apothecium, composed of small-celled textura prismatica, 1-2 layers of golden hyphae with hyaline to subhyaline and slightly thickened walls, lacking any modification of the apical cells, hairs absent. Margin constructed similarly to the flank, with the individual hyphae narrower, the spaces between individual hyphae smaller and the gelatinous matrix less obvious. Stipe constructed similarly to the receptacle, hyphae in the central core becoming slightly to obviously interwoven.

On unidentified leaves and leaves of Elaeocarpus dentatus Vahl, and unidentified wood and wood of Nothofagus fusca Oest.

Dennis, Kew Bull. 15: 309, fig. 25. 1961.

[Notes from Kew Type specimen, PRJ 2010] Type material at Kew with very few apothecia. Receptacle translucent ornage brown, glabrous; stipe quite long and broad, cylindric, lower part of stipe with dense weft of fine, white mycelium. Does not seem right for Rutstroemiaceae - No sign of any stromatic development on these leaves, and leaves partly decomposed.

NEW ZEALAND: Westland, Harihari, on leaves of Elaeocarpus dentatus, 8 xi 1954, leg. J.M. Dingley, ex P.D.D. 19052 (Holotype, K).

STROMA substratal, evident as a superficial blackening of the substrate and, in transverse section, as two concentric blackened zones surrounding the core of the midrib and petiole. APOTHECIA hypophyllous, usually arising from petioles or main veins, scattered, superficial, stipitate. DISC 1.0-2.5 mm diam., planoconcave, or centrally convex and depressed towards the margin. reddish-orange, smooth. RECEPTACLE shallow cupulate to discoid, paler than the disc, orange-yellow, smooth. STIPE central concolorous, equalling disc diam., cylindrical or tapered, with a few longitudinal furrows, smooth above, whitish-tomentose at the base, with a pad of whitish or pale buff hyphae radiating onto the substrate. ASCI 8-spored, mostly 70-80 x 6-7 µm, cylindric-clavate. tapered below to a rather stout base 3-4 µm diam., apex rounded or conical, the small pore weakly outlined blue in Melzer's reagent. ASCOSPORES hyaline, ellipso-cylindric or cylindric-clavate, ends narrowed but rounded, smooth, non-septate, often containing 2 small guttules. obliquely uniseriate or partially biseriate, 8-11 x 2.5-3.0, mean 9.7 (SD 0.7) x mean 2.6 (SD 0.1) µm. PARAPHYSES hyaline, filiform, obtuse, sparsely septate. often branched near the base, equal to the asci, c. 1.5 µm diam., not expanding apically. SUBHYMENIUM a poorly differentiated layer 30-40 µm deep, of subhyaline hyphae 1-5-2.5 µm diam. MEDULLARY EXCIPULUM composed of hyaline or pale pigmented hyphae 2-3 µm diam., with thin or slightly thickened walls, forming a textura porrecta in the stipe and in an irregular layer adjacent to the ectal tissue in the receptacle, and becoming loosely interwoven in the centre of the receptacle, the whole tissue staining blue in Melzer's reagent, most distinctly in the stipe and lower receptacle. ECTAL EXCIPULUM 30-50 µm thick, composed of parallel, septate hyphae arranged at a low angle to the surface, their walls thickened and gelatinized. On the stipe, these form thick-walled prismatic cells 20-35 x 5-6 µm, with the terminal 1 or 2 cells thinner-walled and with conspicuous yellow, granular contents, these appressed to the surface, or sometimes protruding. At the stipe base the ectal hyphae are more interwoven, forming at the surface interwoven, hyaline hyphae 2-3 µm diam., with thin or slightly thickened walls, running out onto the substrate. In the receptacle, the ectal hyphae are narrower, 4.0-4.5 µm diam., 2-3 µm diam. near the margin, with a few thin septa, similarly terminating in appressed, sometimes free, thinner-walled elements with yellowish granular pigment.

New Zealand

Typically on leaves of Elaeocarpus dentatus; also on indet. leaf and wood, and on wood of Nothofagus fusca teste Dumont (1975).