UNKNOWN HOST: New South Wales, Garie Beach.

Hymenophore annual, membranous, loosely attached, effused forming small irregular areas 2-4 x 1-2 cm; hymenial surface umber or sepia, granulose, not creviced; margin thinning out, concolorous, loosely attached, fibrillose, sometimes with scattered rhizomorphs. Context sepia, to 400 µm thick, a loose weft of intertwined hyphae becoming erect beneath the hymenium, with in the base numerous cordons to 50 µm diameter, composed of 20-35 parallel compacted hyphae; generative hyphae 3.5-4 µm diameter in the subhymenium, in the base of the context to 8 µm, walls 0.2 µm, thick, some roughened slightly, ferruginous, tinted beneath the hymenium, freely branched at a wide angle, septate, with clamp connections. Hymenial layer to 55 µm deep, of loosely arranged corymbs of basidia, paraphyses, and occasional paraphysate hyphae. Basidia subclavate, 35-46 x 5-7 bearing 2-4 spores; sterigmata arcuate, slender, to 8 µm long. Paraphyses clavate, 20-35 x 5-6 µm. Paraphysate hyphae projecting to 50 µm, cylindrical, septate, to 5 µm diameter. Spores subglobose or oblong elliptical, 8-10 x 7-9 µm, walls strongly sinuate, coarsely sparsely echinulate, tinted brown, 0.2 µm thick, spines to 2 µm long.

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

HABITAT: Bark or decorticated wood of dead branches.

Specimens agree with collections of 'Hypochnus granulosus' examined in Kew herbarium. The species may be recognised by the granulose surface, rather stout basal hyphae, presence of large cordons near the base, strongly sinuate coarsely echinulate spore walls, and dark colour of the context. Basidia and paraphyses are grouped in corymbs, forming a loose palisade and giving to the surface its granulose appearance. Cordons are conspicuous and may be seen with the aid of a hand lens when the upper layer is dissected away. Because of their presence the species was placed by Bourdot & Galzin (1928, p. 507) under the section 'Chordulatae', containing in addition T. rubiginosa (Bres.) Maire (with two subspecies T. gresicola B. & G. and T. hasicola B. & G.), T. coriaria (Peck) Bourd. & Galz., and T. botryoides (Schw.) Bourd. & Galz. Burt at first used the name Hypochnus granulosus for the species; later, following examination of the type of Hydnum epiphyllum, he held (1926b, p. 320) that the correct specific epithet was Hypochnus epiphyllus.

TYPE LOCALITY: Pennsylvania, U.S.A.