MYRTACEAE. Tristania conferta: Queensland, Cunninghams Gap, type collection, P.D.D. herbarium, No. 17463.

Hymenophore apparently resupinate, coriaceous, adherent; effused forming irregular areas to 12 x 8 cm; hymeneal surface ferruginous or umber, velutinate, coarsely and deeply irregularly creviced; margin thinning out, definite, ferruginous, loosely attached. Context ferruginous, to 1 mm thick, a dense layer of parallel hyphae bordered by a cortex of parallel dark brown hyphae from which arise masses of short abhymenial hairs; skeletal hyphae 3-3.5 µm diameter, lumena almost capillary, ferruginous or reddish-brown, encrusted with granules of brown mucilage; generative hyphae 3-4 µm diameter, walls 0.2 µm thick, tinted or hyaline; collapsing, with clamp connections. Fascicles projecting to 160 µm, arising from the base of the subhymenium, 30-50 µm diameter, composed of 6-14 skeletal hyphae with rounded sometimes inflated apices, reddish-brown save at apices where lighter in colour, to 8 µm diameter, delicately verruculose, lumena capillary. Pseudosetae forming the bulk of the subhymenium, arranged in a dense palisade of 2-4 coloured zones, to 5 µm diameter, with rounded sometimes inflated apices, chestnut. Hymenial layer to 180 µm deep, a close palisade of basidia, paraphyses, fascicles, pseudosetae, and a deep subhymenium. Basidia clavate, 24-32 x 6-8 µm, bearing 4 spores; sterigmata slender, erect, to 6 µm long. Paraphyses rather scanty, subclavate, 18-25 x 5-6 µm. Spores fusiform or narrowly obovate, with rounded or acuminate apices, apiculate, 16-18 x 5-6 µm, walls smooth, hyaline, 0.2 µm thick.

DISTRIBUTION: Australia.

HABITAT: Decorticated dead branches.

Although part of the type from which the description has been drawn is resupinate, the presence of abundant abhymenial hairs suggests the species may be pileate and effused-reflexed as in V. berkeleyi. Specific features are the coriaceous hymenophore composed of a deep subhymenium of erect hyphae, deep intermediate tissue of parallel hyphae bordered by a dense, more deeply coloured cortex, fascicles arising from the base of the subhymenium, pseudosetae, and somewhat large spores. As in Duportella fulva the hymenium develops at an early stage, so that in the collection at hand basidia have been found only near margins, being collapsed over the greater part of the fructification. The pseudosetae and clamp connections in generative hyphae link the species with Duportella. The type collection was kindly donated by Mr W. Pont of the Queensland Department of Agriculture.

TYPE LOCALITY: Queensland.