SPECIMENS EXAMINED: GISBORNE: Urewera National Park, Lake Waikaremoana, Ngamoko Track, on indet. wood, Horak & Johnston, 26 May 1981 (PDD 45343); same locality, second collection, on indet. wood, Samuels (82-89) & Samuels, 24 May 1982 (PDD 43167); same locality, third collection, on Weinmannia racemosa, Samuels (81-190) et al., 21 May 1981 (PDD 41977).

Stromata gregarious, unbranched or once dichotomously branched, lanceolate to subcylindrical, 7-10 mm long x 2 mm, widest at base and tapering to an acute tip, elliptical in section; dark brown to nearly black. Surface rugose but not conspicuously cracked. Perithecia completely immersed, 100-200 µm diam., perithecial openings appearing as minute papillae. Internal tissue of stroma white, solid. Stipe lacking or at best ill-defined, glabrous. Asci 65-95 µm total length x 4-5(-l l) µm, sporiferous part (40-)54-75(-80) µm, cylindrical; apical ring J+, wedge-shaped, 1 µm high x 1.5 µm wide; ascospores 1-seriate with overlapping ends. Ascospores (5.0-)6.0-7.5(-8.5) x 3.0-4.0 µm, inequilateral with one side flat and one side round, elliptic in top view, with inconspicuous cellular appendage (primary appendage) on one end, transparent brown; slit full length or slightly less, parallel to long axis of ascospore.
CHARACTERISTICS IN CULTURE: Colonies grown 3 weeks at 15-18°C in diffuse daylight on OA and CMD c. 1.5 cm diam., felty, white with short aerial hyphae. Conidiophores formed in poorly developed white hyphal tufts, nondescript, barely differentiated from vegetative hyphae; Conidia borne along the length on widely spaced, conspicuous denticles. Conidia (4-)5-7 x 1.5-2.5(-3.0) µm, variable in shape but basically oblong to clavate, colourless, smooth; each with a protuberant, flat basal abscission scar.

DISTRIBUTION: Gisborne.

HABITAT: On decorticated dicotyledonous trees.

Xylaria myosurus has usually been reported from South America. Our concept of the fungus is based largely on Dennis (1956). The specimens described here are similar to Dennis' description (1956) except that the ascospores average slightly larger. Type material [Cayenne, Leprieur (K)] was examined, but ascospores were not sought in the fragile material.
Martin (1970) cultured ,X. myosurus and his brief description resembles our description, except that stromata were formed in his cultures. He did not find conidia.