On dead bark and wood of (1) Alectryon excelsus, Wellington, Upper Pohangina River, Jan 1955, G. H. Cunningham, 24433; (2) Rhopalostylis sapida, Auckland, Piha, Sep 1954, J. M. Dingley, 24432; (3) R. sapida, Huia, Jan 1966, R.F.R. McN., 24835.

Fructifications arid-waxy, resupinate, thin, effused, indeterminate. forming irregular areas to 12 cm in longest dimension, pruinose, greyish hyaline, cream, beige, or pallid tan when fresh, drying tan to light brown: margins concolorous, adnate. In section to 100 µm thick, consisting of basal layer and hymenium. Basal layer thin, composed of compact, interwoven, indistinct, agglutinated hyphae lying parallel with substratum. Hymenium composed of dikaryophyses, gloeocystidia and basidia; dikaryophyses simple or irregularly branched apically, 1-2.5 µm diam., becoming indistinct; gloeocystidia abundant, cylindrical to subclavate, occasionally irregular, arising from basal hyphae or base or fertile hyphae, at first hyaline, contents becoming yellow to brownish, granular, 17-40-(54) x 4.5-9.3 µm, probasidia obovate to pyriform, with basal clamp connections, formed in groups on erect, fertile hyphae, 12-20.5 x 8.5-11.8 µm, becoming 2-celled by longitudinal septa or longitudinally cruciate-septate; sterigmata subulate, to 20 x 2-3 µm; old basidia collapsing, forming an involucre around axis of fertile hyphae in thick fructifications, sheathing probasidia in thinner fructifications. Basidiospores oblong to broadly elliptical, often flattened on one side, hyaline, apiculate, 8-12.5 x 5.2-7.6 µm. Germination by repetition.

Angiosperm and gymnosperm bark and wood.

Wells. Lloydia 20: 55, f. 8. 1957; Luck-Alien, Can. J. Bot. 41: 1042, f. 36A-46. 1963.

Sebacina cinerea may be distinguished by the conspicuous, cylindrical to subclavate gloeocystidia, and obovate to pyriform basidia with subulate sterigmata. In older and thicker fructifications, the tendency for collapsed basidia to form an involucre around the fertile ascending hyphae is a characteristic feature.

Trento, Italy.