It is common on root cankers of Elaeocarpus throughout the indigenous forests but i of no economic importance.

Type: Radicicolous Fungi; Description: Ascomata stromatic, perithecial, aggregated in groups of 5–50, deeply immersed and irregularly arranged in one to three layers in a pustulate, erumpent, yellowish orange to yellowish brown stroma, 1–5 mm in diameter, globose with long necks, the necks projecting 0.2–1 mm above the surface of the stroma, black, 0.2–0.5 mm in diameter, ostiolate; on roots. Asci oblong, 40–50 × 7 μm. Ascospores subelliptical, 1-septate, 7–11 × 3–5 μm, smooth, hyaline. Conidia oblong to cylindrical, 0-septate, 3–7 × 1–3 m, smooth, hyaline, but pale yellowish in mass.

Distribution: Northland, Auckland, Coromandel, Waikato, Wellington, Nelson, Buller, Westland, Fiordland.; 1st Record: Gilmour (1966a: as Endothia tropicalis).

Significance: Common on root cankers of Elaeocarpus spp. but of no significance (Dingley 1969).; Host(s): Elaeocarpus dentatus, E. hookerianus.

Additional material examined. — Sri Lanka. Nuwara (Mount) Eliya, Elaeocarpus glandulifer, G. H. K. Thwaites (K 109809). Hakgala, Elaeocarpus glandulifer, 1913, T. Petch (BPI 614797!, BPI 614526!). New Zealand. Auckland: Atanui State Forest, E. dentatus, 1973, G. J. Samuels (PDD 32619, living culture CMW 10471). Waitakere Ranges, E. dentatus, 1958, J. M. Dingley (PDD 18377). Titirangi, unidentified living tree, 1973, J. M. Dingley & G. J. Samuels (NY 30873). Waitakere Ranges, Fairy Falls track, E. dentatus, 1963, J. M. Dingley (PDD 21944). Waitakere Ranges, Waiatarua, E. dentatus, 1963, J. M. Dingley (PDD 25570). Waitakere Ranges, Cutty Grass track, E. dentatus root, 1959, S. McBeth (PDD 28497). Waitakere Dam, E. dentatus, 1966, J. M. Dingley (PDD 25003). Waitakere Ranges, Upper Piha Valley, E. dentatus fallen trunk, 1949, J. M. Dingley (PDD 28485). Upper Piha, E. dentatus, 1947, J. M. Dingley (PDD 28482). Waitakere Ranges, Piha, E. dentatus, 1948, J. M. Dingley (PDD 28484). Orere, E. dentatus, 1963, S. J. Hughes (PDD 20570). Orere, E. dentatus, 1953, J. M. Dingley (PDD 28487). Hanua Ranges, E. dentatus, 1953, J. M. Dingley (PDD 28488). Hanua Ranges, Moumoukai Valley, E. dentatus, 1932, L. M. Cranwell (PDD 3841). Henderson, off Stony Creek, E. dentatus root, 1948, J. M. Dingley (PDD 28483). Henderson, Walker’s Bush, E. dentatus, 1958, S. McBeth (PDD 28494). Henderson Valley, Sharps Bush, E. dentatus, 1972, J. M. Dingley (PDD 29819). Northland: Omahuta State Forest, E. dentatus, 1963, S. J. Hughes (PDD 21242). Waipoua, E. dentatus, 1955, J. M. Dingley (PDD 28492). Coromandel: Camel’s Back, E. dentatus exposed root, 1934, J. M. Dingley (PDD 28489). Waikato: Taupiri Mt., E. dentatus, 1954, J. M. Dingley (PDD 28491). Buller: Orwell Creek, Granville Forest, E. hookerianus, 1963, J. M. Dingley (PDD 23365).

Ascostromata gregarious on bark, often occurring in cracks, often confluent, pulvinate, erumpent, slightly immersed to superficial (Fig. 2A, B, 3A, B, 6A, B), 460–500 μm high, 660–950 μm diam., orange, well-developed stromatic tissue (Fig. 2C, 6C), prosenchyma at the center, pseudoparenchyma at the edges, orange. Perithecia surrounded with fungal tissue or with bases touching the host tissue, diatrypoid, globose to sub-globose (Fig. 2B, 3B, 6B), 340–400 μm diam., walls black, 17–21 μm thick, up to 22 perithecia in a stroma. Perithecial necks periphysate, black, slender (Fig. 2B, 3B, 6B), 80–120 μm wide, breaking through the stromatal surface as papillae or long cylindrical beaks covered with orange tissue (Fig. 2A, B, 3A, B, 6A), protruding necks up to 440 μm long, 100–200 μm wide. Asci (43–)46–52(–55) x (6–)7–8(–9) μm, fusoid, floating freely in the perithecial cavity, stipitate only when immature, unitunicate with non-amyloid, refractive apical ring, 8-spored, biseriate (Fig. 2D, 3C). Ascospores (9–)9.5–11.5(–12) x (3.5–)4–5(–5.5) μm, oval, hyaline, containing one or two irregularly spaced septa (Fig. 2E, 3C, 6E, F). Conidiomata separate (Fig. 2F, 3D, 6G) or above the ascostromata, also appearing as locules inside ascostromata, individual conidiomata unilocular (Fig. 2G, 3E, 6H), 400–890 μm high, 100–370 μm diam., orange, superficial, conical to pyriform to fluted, conidiomatal tissue pseudoparenchymatous (Fig. 2H). Conidiophores (10.5–)13–19(–24) μm long, branched irregularly, cells delimited by septa or not, hyaline (Fig. 2I, J, 3F, 6J, K). Conidiogenous cells phialidic, determinate, branches arising beneath a septum, cylindrical to flask-shaped with attenuated apices, (1–)1.5–2.5(–3) μm wide, collarette and periclinal thickening inconspicuous (Fig. 2I, J, 3F, 6J, K). Conidia (3–)4–8.5(–12) x (1.5–)2–2.5 (–3.5) μm, non-septate, oblong to slightly curved, hyaline (Fig. 2K, L, 3F, 6L). Cultures (CMW 10469, CMW 10471) on MEA white when young, often with a luteous center, becoming orange when older, flat and striate with a smooth to sinuous margin, fast growing, covering a 90 mm plate after a minimum of six days; optimum temperature 25–30 ºC.

Distribution — New Zealand, Sri Lanka.

Host — Roots of Elaeocarpus dentatus, E. hookerianus and E. glandulifer.

Measurement of ascospores on specimens from New Zealand could be used to recognize two distinct species in this study. Herbarium specimens (NY 31874, PDD 32619) from which isolates CMW 10469, CMW 10470 and CMW10471 originated and that formed the phylogenetic group described by Myburg & al. (2004b), have ascospores(9–)9.5–11.5(–12) μm long. The majority of specimens from Elaeocarpus spp. in New Zealand (Table 1) have ascospores falling within this range [(7–)8.5–11(–13.5) μm long]. Specimens PDD 20056 and PDD 28490, however, have distinctly longer ascospores [(10.5–)11.5–14(–15.5) μm]. Ascospores have one or two septa (Fig. 2E, 3C) except PDD 20056 and PDD 28490 with one to three septa (Fig. 4E, 5C). There are no isolates connected to the specimens with larger ascospores and their phylogenetic position cannot be resolved, although they are morphologically similar to those for which isolates are available in other respects than ascospore morphology.
Myburg & al. (2004b) previously found that specimens from E. dentatus and E. hookerianus in New Zealand differ from Cryphonectria and Endothia spp. Ascospores of the New Zealand specimens have one to three septa in irregular positions (Fig. 2E, 3C, 4E, 5C). These are different from ascospores of Cryphonectria species that typically have one median septum (Kobayashi, 1970; Roane, 1986; Myburg & al., 2004b). Conidia are often variable in size (Fig. 2K–L, 3F, 4K–L,5F), ranging from 3–12 μm in length, whereas conidia of Cryphonectria are generally more uniform in size, ranging from 2–5 µm (Kobayashi, 1970; Roane, 1986). Conidiomata of the New Zealand specimens are typically superficial, conical to fluted (Fig. 2F, 3D, 4F, 5D), although conidial locules can also be observed inside stromata that contain perithecial necks. This is different from Cryphonectria species, which have semi-immersed, pulvinate conidiomata (Kobayashi, 1970; Venter & al.,2002; Myburg & al., 2004b). Furthermore, ascostromata on the New Zealand specimens are pulvinate and erumpent with perithecia formed in a diatrypoid orientation (Fig. 2B, 3B, 4B, 5B). This is more similar to stromata of Endothia, but Endothia spp. have aseptate, cylindrical ascospores (Shear & al., 1917; Kobayashi, 1970;Venter & al., 2002; Myburg & al., 2004b) that can easily be distinguished from those of the structures on Elaeocarpus spp.
Careful study of the specimens (K 109807, K109809) linked to the original description of C. gyrosa from Sri Lanka, revealed that the structures originally described for C. gyrosa are identical to those on the specimens linked to the description of E. tropicalis (BPI614797, BPI 614256, BPI 797701). The type specimen of C. gyrosa (K 109807), however, contains few recognizable structures, and only a few of these structures could be used. Structures on the C. gyrosa specimens from Sri Lanka also had a morphology identical to specimens from Elaeocarpus spp. in New Zealand, which have previously been assigned the name C. gyrosa. Ascospores of the Sri Lankan fungus were generally one-septate, but ascospores with two irregularly spaced septa were found in all three specimens (Fig. 6E, F).
Ascospores of the C. gyrosa specimens from Sri Lanka [(7–)8–9.5(–11.5) μm long] overlapped in size with those of the group fromNew Zealand with smaller ascospores [(7–)8.5–11(–13.5) μm long]. Specimens BPI 614797 [(4–7(–10) μm long] and K 109809 [4.5–10(–14) μm long], also had conidia (Fig. 6L) that fell within the size range [(3–)4–8.5(–12) μm long] of the specimens for both groups of fungi from New Zealand. Ascostromata on specimens BPI 614797and K 109807 representing the Sri Lankan fungus (Fig.6A, B), were identical to those of structures on New Zealand specimens, and specimen BPI 614797 contained conical conidiomata (Fig. 6G, H) similar to those found on New Zealand specimens. Specimens representing the Sri Lankan fungus could thus not be distinguished from those originating in New Zealand, connected to isolates that represent a phylogenetic group separate from Cryphonectria (Myburg & al., 2004b) and with ascospores (7–)8.5–11(–13.5) μm long.