Anamorph. Pestalotiopsis sp.
Perithecia forming in diffused brown lesions, amphigenous, gregarious, intermingled with conidiomata, completely immersed, subcuticular, intraepidermal, globose, ca. 250 µm diam, brown. Perithecial wall 15-20 µm wide, comprising several layers of flat, compressed, cells ca. 15 µm long with walls < 0.5 µm thick, lightly pigmented. Ostiolar region comprising small cells 4-6 µm in greatest dimension; ostiolar canal periphysate, periphyses ca. 3 µm wide. Asci 80-90(-97) x 6-7(-8) µm, cylindrical, apex with a wedge-shaped, J+ (Melzer's) ring 2.5-3 µm wide x 1-1.5um long; forming in a hymenium over most of the interior wall of the peritheciµm; ascopores uniseriate, completely filling the ascus. Ascospores 12-15 x (5-)5.5-6(-7) µm, ellipsoidal, some spores appearing slightly angular when seen in end view, 2-septate, dilute brown, end cells sometimes slightly lighter than the median cell, wall noticeably thick. Paraphyses approµmately the same length as the asci or somewhat shorter than the asci, filiform, unbranched, septate, ca. 4 µm wide, not copious.
Conidiomata acervular, intermingled with perithecia, forming minute pustules, subcuticular, forming in the epidermis or mesophyll, eventually rupturing the cuticle by a minute slit or pore. Conidiomatal wall ca. 15 µm thick, cells ca. 3 µm in greatest dimension, light brown; the region of the conidiomatal opening ca. 25 µm thick, cells 5-6 µm in greatest dimension, nonpigmented. Conidiogenous cells forming in a continuous hymenium over the interior of the lower conidiomatal wall, not noted on the lateral walls, arising directly from cells of the conidiomatal wall, most frequently cylindrical, 11-18 x 2-2.5 µm, less frequently doliform, proliferating percurrently once or twice, with slight periclinal thickening at many conidiogenous loci. Conidia forming enteroblastically, phialidically, (22-)26.5-32(-34) [measured from the base of the appendages] x (6.5-) 7-8.5 (-9) µm, median cells (16-)18.5-21.2(-23) µm, fusiform to ellipsoidal, widest in the middle, 4-septate, middle 3 cells brown, concolorous, terminal cells colorless; with 3 apical appendages 15-23 x 0.5-1 µm, unbranched; and 1 basal appendage, 6-10 x 0.5-l µm.
CHARACTERISTICS IN CULTURE. Colonies grown 1 week at 20 C, 12 h dark/12 h near ultraviolet + cool white fluorescent light. CMD: 6.5 cm diam, colony transparent, aerial mycelium scant, very pale salmon. PDA, OA: 8 cm diam, colony opaque, aerial mycelium felty, greenish yellow but with a marginal band of white hyphae; colony reverse on PDA pale salmon. Conidiomata forming abundantly in obvious concentric rings on all media within 5 days. Conidiogenous cells identical to those found in nature. Conidia (20-)22.5-30.5(-34) x (6-)6.7-8(-9) µm; median cells (13-)15-17(-18) µm; apical appendages 10-17 µm long, basal appendage 3-4 µm long.

DISTRIBUTION. New Zealand, known only from the type collection.

HABITAT. Live leaves of Leucospermum sp. (Proteaceae).

Ascomata in brunneis, diffusis laesionibus orientia, amphigena, gregaria, conidiomatibus intermixta, plane immersa, subcuticularia, intraepidermalia, globosa, fusca, ad 250 µm diametro. Ascomatis paries 15-20 µm crassa, e nonullis stratis compressarum planarum cellularum 15 µm longitudine, parietibus tenuioribus quam 0.5 µm crassitudine, dilute coloratis composita. Ostiolum periphysibus ad 3 µm crassis ornatum. Asci in hymenio ordinati maxima pro parte parietem interiorem ascomatis tegentes, 80-90(-97) x 6-7 µm, cylindracei, apice poro iodo coerulescenti praedito. Ascosporae uniseriatae, totum ascum implentes, ellipticae, biseptatae, dilute brunneae, cellulis terminalibus interdum pallidioribus quam medianis, crassitunicatae, 12-15 x (5-)5.5-6(-7) µm. Paraphyses tum longae quam asci tum breviores, filiformes, eramosae, septatae, ad 4 µm crassae. Status anamorphosis ad Pestalotiopsidem pertinens.
Conidiomata acervularia, intraepidermalia aut in mesophyllo orientia, conidia enteroblastice phialidice genita, quadriseptata, (22-)26.5-32(-34) x (6.5-)7-8.5(-9) µm; tres cellulae in medio conidii sitae brunneae, terminales non coloratae, tribus eramosis appendicibus apicalibus singuloque basali praedita.
Habitat in foliis Leucospermi.
Holotypus: NOVAE ZELANDIAE, in insula septentrionali, in loco dicto Taranaki, New Plymouth, Hartill leg augusto 1985 (PDD 47671).

NOTES. The Pestalotiopsis Stey. anamorph of P. leucospermi is morphologically close to P. macularis (Corda) Nag Raj [= P. guepinii (Desm.) Steyaert] as recently redescribed by Nag Raj (1985a) but has larger conidia. It is noteworthy that conidia formed in cultures (n = 34; mean: 23.5 _+ 2.3 x 7.0 _+ 0.4 µm) of P. leucospermi are smaller than those from nature (n = 50; mean: 26.4 _+ 4.0 x 7.4 _+ 0.7 µm); conidial appendages were also shorter in culture than in nature. These differences could lead to misdetermination of other Pestalotiopsis species if conidial measurements taken from isolates are compared with published measurements that are apparently taken from nature.
The greenish yellow coloration of cultures of P. leucospermi is striking but we do not know how this pigmentation compares to other species in the Pestalotiopsis macularis-complex.
The conidia of Pestalosphaeria leucospermi are much smaller than conidia of Pestalotiopsis montellicoides Mordue (Mordue 1986), a species recently described from leaves of Protea (Proteaceae) in South Africa and also isolated from air over New Zealand.
The genus most closely related to Pestalosphaeria is Lepteutypa Fuckel and on the basis of their described differences, the two genera might be considered to be synonymous. Ascospores of Pestalosphaeria species are described as biseptate, ascospores of Lepteutypa species as triseptate (Barr 1975; key to species of Pestalospheria in Shoemaker & Simpson 1981 and Nag Rag 1985b; key to species of Lepteutypa in Nag Raj & Kendrick 1985). Anamorphs of Pestalosphaeria species belong to Pestalotiopsis; anamorphs of Lepteutypa species are attributed to Seiridium Nees and Hyalotiopsis Punith. (Swart 1973, Barr 1975, Nag Raj 1985b).
Pestalotiopsis and Seiridium are certainly closely related and variants on one, readily distinguishable theme (see Sutton 1980). Hyalotiopsis is likely to fit into the series even though its conidiomata are described as pycnidial and conidiogenous cells as holoblstic with sympodial proliferation (Sutton 1980) or blastic-annellidic (Nag Raj & Kendrick 1985). Nag Raj & Kendrick (1985) recently removed Lepteutypa indica (Punith.) Arx to the moriotypic genus Ellurema Nag Raj & Kendrick. They cited the Hyalotiopsis anamorph and the lightly pigmented, spinulose ascospores as the distinguishing features of their new genus.
Shoemaker & Muller (1963) discounted conidial appendages and conidiomatal form in assigning anamorphs of Broomella Saccardo to Pestalotia de Notaris. Sympodial and percurrent proliferation of the conidiogenous locus occur in individual species of various, unrelated genera (e.g. Microdochium H. Sydow, see Müller & Samuels 1984; Diatrypaceae, Glawe & Rogers 1982 a,b; 1986). Variations in form of conidiomata and in the manner of proliferation of the conidiogenous cell do not support more than one teleomorph genus.
The most important differences between Pestalosphaeria and Lepteutypa, however, are seen in the ascospores. Although we do not feel that the actual number of septa in the ascospores is taxonomically significant at the generic level, the manner in which those septa form in ascospores of the respective type species, P. concentrica Barr and L. fuckelii (Nits.) Petrak, appears to differ fundamentally from each other.
Ascospores in five of the six known spescies of Pestalosphaeria are predominantly biseptate. The formation of an even number of septa in a spore implies a consistently occuring anomaly in nuclear behavior. In the case of P. concentrica each of the eight, post meiotic daughter nuclei becomes enclosed in a spore wall. Each nucleus then divides within the spore but the resulting nuclei are segregated into cells of unequal size with the upper cell always smaller than the lower. The nucleus in the upper cell does not divide again but the nucleus in the lower cell divides once more and the progeny nuclei are separated by the second septum. These septa are eusepta and are heavily pigmented. This sequence of development was inferred from a study of herbarium material. The ascospores of P. concentrica, and presumably of the other species of Pestalosphaeria that have biseptate ascospores, are therefore basically apiosporous with a second septum forming later.
Ascospores of Lepteutypa fuckelii have three septa. The first septum is median; the other two septa begin forming later and develop slowly. Ascospores of this species (Fig. 3 C) appear to be distoseptate. All of the septa, but especially the two end septa, often appear not to traverse the entire width of the ascospore. In 3% KOH the endospore layer appears to swell and the end septa may merely extend to the width of that swollen endospore (Fig. 3 C). All of the septa often appear as incomplete and to be marked by accumulations of brown pigment. These observations are drawn from herbarium material. This presumed distoseptate condition is shown in photographs of L. fuckelii (Shoemaker & Muller 1965, Fig. 8), and can also be implied from drawings of ascospores of L. cupressi (Nattrass, Booth & Sutton) Swart (Swart 1973, Figs. 2 F, 3 F) and L. hippophaes (Sollm.) Arx (Swart 1973, Fig. 4 F). The wall of the ascospore of Lepteutypa species is obviously very complex and this complexity cannot be fully understood or evaluated with light microscopy alone.

HOLOTYPE. NEW ZEALAND: North Island, Taranaki, New Plymouth, on leaves of Leucospermum sp., Hartill, Aug 1985 (PDD 47671).