Australia: New South Wales, Tuggerah, J. Cleland No. 52, 24.X.1914, Lloyd Mycological Collections, Cat. No. 37943, BPI (holotype); New South Wales, Wollemin National Park, Wheeny Creek, on dead wood of Backhousia myrtifolia, in wet Eucalyptus forest, R. Coveny No. 184, I3.vi.1983, O et MUCL 41741. New Zealand: Auckland, on logs, Edwin Cheel, iii.1908 (1909 ?), Lloyd Mycological collections, Cat. No. 37944, BPI,

Specimen of Doubtful Identity: New Zealand: Caversliam, W.A. Scarfe, Lloyd Mycological collections, Cat. No. 37945, BPI.

Basidiocarp seasonal to perennial, pileate or broadly effused-reflexed with several small pilei developing from an effused pore surface. Pileus applanate to ungulate, semicircular or pendant, or as reflexed part at the upper edge of an effused basidiocarp, up to 12 mm long, 18 mm wide, 10 mm thick at the base, slightly concentrically sulcate and radially wrinkled, glabrous, dull, dark brown (6E(7-8)) to black due to a thick crust covering the entire surface. Margin even, obtuse, creamy to pale greyish orange. Pore surface whitish to cream (4A3) to pale greyish orange (5A3), even. Pores even, round, elongated ellipsoid on sloping substrate, 3 or 4 per mm, (105)-134-225-(240) µm diam. (x = 184 µm). Dissepiments thick, entire, smooth, (40)-58-150-(172) µm thick (x = 94 µm). Tube layer vaguely stratose, with a hard corky consistency, up to 8 mm thick, elongated on sloping substrate, creamy to pale greyish orange close to the pore surface progressively turning light brown (cinnamon, sunburn, 6(C-D)5) close to the context. Context reduced to a thin layer below the crust, 1-3 mm thick, light brown to brown (cinnamon to cocoa brown 6D6, 6E6). Crust 350-400 µm thick, hard, horny, dark reddish brown to black.

Hyphal system dimitic in both the context and trama of the tubes. Generative hyphae difficult to see, hyaline, thin-walled, clamped, sparingly branched. Vegetative hyphae hyaline to yellowish brown, not dextrinoid, cyanophilous, swelling in KOH. Context composed mainly of acicular to more commonly arboriform skeletal hyphae, with a basal stalk, (57)-65-162-(200) µm long (x = 98 µm), with a basal clamp, straight, thick-walled but with a lumen, 3.5-4 µm wide, and (0)-1-4 apical or subapical branches, up to 500-600 µm long, sparingly branched, (2.0)-2.3-3.2-(3.5) µm diam. (x = 2.7 µm), ending thin-walled. Trama of the tubes with variously branched vegetative hyphae, often with an ill-defined arboriform branching pattern, from almost unbranched (acicular) to arboriform, with a basal clamp, the basal part straight to tortuous, or geniculated, with lateral aborted processes, (52)-60-124-(130) µm long (x= 87 µm), progressively widening from 3.0-4.0 µm at the basal septum to 3.0-4.7 µm (x = 3.9 µm) at the branching point, and 1-3 short to long branches, up to 500-600 µm long, becoming then skeletal-like, thick-walled, with a lumen, (3.0)-3.2-4.5-(4.7) µm wide (x = 3.9 µm) in the main part, ending thin-walled and occasionally with a few secondary septa. Crust composed of strongly agglutinated skeletal hyphae.

Basidia 21-28 x 9-10 µm, clavate to pedunculate, with a basal clamp and four sterigmata. Basidioles 16-30 x 6.5-13 µm (x = 21 x 9 µm), clavate to pedunculate, with a basal clamp. Basidiospores (7.3)-7.5-9.0-(9.5) x (6.0)-6.4-7.6-(8.0) µm, R = (1.0)-1.1-1.3-(1.4) (x = 8.2 x 7.0 µm, xR = 1.2), subglobose to ovoid, slightly ellipsoid, with a truncate apex, thick-walled, with an apical germ pore, 0 or 1 guttulae, hyaline to faintly yellowish, not to strongly dextrinoid, cyanophilous. Cystidia and chlamydospores absent.
Type of Rot: unknown (presumably a white rot).
Cultural Features: Refshauge and Proctor (1935).
Sexuality: unknown.

The combination of small, mostly ungulate pilei, almost entirely covered with a black crust, a very reduced, brown context, and relatively large (7.3-9.5 x 6.0-8.0 µm), subglobose to broadly ovoid, apically truncate, dextrinoid basidiospores clearly distinguishes the species. The hyphal system is dimitic with long, undextrinoid, primarily arboriform skeletal hyphae in the context and in the trama of the tubes, although the branching is more difficult to interpret in the latter. This branching pattern corresponds to the description given by Corner (1989) for his own collections identified as P. clelandii, with an ill-defined arboriform branching pattern, and occasionally tortuous, geniculated, profusely branched narrow vegetative hyphae. The hyphal system, hyphal make-up and basidiospore morphology support the inclusion in Perenniporia, according to the current definition of the genus (Ryvarden and Johansen 1980; Gilbertson and Ryvarden 1987; Corner 1989; Ryvarden and Gilbertson 1994; Decock and Ryvarden 1999a,1999b).

Cunningham reported 5 or 6 pores per mm with a pore diameter of 80-112 µm, which is mostly out of the range recorded here (3 or 4 per mm and 105-240 (µm diam.). His observations were based on a portion of the holotype collection in K. Coveny's collection (O, MUCL 41741) agrees micro-morphologically with the type specimen. The specimen is, however, almost completely resupinate, having grown on an oblique substrate, and has developed small, nodulose, black pilei at the upper margin. The pore surface is whitish to pale cream-coloured and the tube layers are concolorous with the pore surface, but progressively turn brown in the older parts. Basidiospores and hyphal system are identical to those found in the type specimen of P. clelandii. It might represent a different form or variety but, for the time being, and notwithstanding the differences noted, we include the specimen in P. clelandii, pending availability of more material. The taxon is poorly known and we have found few reports of it in literature. Three specimens named F. clelandii are available in the Lloyd Mycological Collections (BPI) but only the type specimen is fertile. Furthermore, the specimen Cat. No. 37945 is of doubtful identity, as already noted by Cunningham (1965) who identified it as T. scutellata (Schw.) G.Cunn. Corner (1989) reported several collections from Malaysia, for which he described basidiospores as 4.0-5.0 x 3.5-4.0 µm, far below the range recorded here (7.3-9.5 x 6.0-8.0 µm) or previously reported by Lloyd (1915: 7.0-8.5 x 6.0-7.0 u.m) and Cunningham (1965: 6.0-8.0 x 5.0-6.5 µm). Corner's specimens also differ from P. clelandii as presently circumscribed by possessing smaller pores (7-9 pores per mm, 70-90 µm wide, pers. obs., Corner 1989) and narrower vegetative hyphae. Corner (1989) distinguished two varieties within the taxon, and described P. clelandii var. subrosea Corner, which he differentiated from the typical variety on the basis of a lighter coloured flesh and dextrinoid vegetative hyphae, all other characters being identical. Corner's specimens of P. clelandii and P. clelandii var. subrosea are not conspecific with P. clelandii as presently described and represent a different taxon, which will be discussed elsewhere. Nevertheless, Comer's collections share with P. clelandii small, black pileate basidiocarps and a similar hyphal system (Corner 1989), and might be related.