AUSTRALIA: NEW SOUTH WALES: Northern Tablelands, Gloucester Tops, creek below Darby Munro Hut, on N. moorei wood, R. Filson, 26 Oct 1963, MEL 257720. TASMANIA: Geeveston, Hermons Rd, E side, 1.1 Km N of St Johns Rd, on wood, J. Weller, 20 Nov 1995, MEL 2060918; Geeveston, 350m W of Hermons Rd, 150 N Hermons Spur 3 Rd, on wood, T. May 1124, 8 Apr 1984, MEL 2060917; Geeveston, Rutherfords Rd, SE side, N of Johns Creek Crossing, 1 Km S of Johns Rd, on wood, J. Weller, 21 Nov 1995, MEL 2060919. VICTORIA: Melba Gully, near Lavers Hill, on unidentified log, G. Beaton 47 (E0405), 8 Dec 1962, MELU 99.1.1 - holotype; Otway Range, Melba Gully, on fallen wood, G. Beaton, 25 Feb 1963, MEL 2032728.

NEW ZEALAND: FIORDLAND: Fiordland National Park, Hollyford Rd., Lake Marian track, on Nothofagus sp. wood, P. R. Johnston D776, 3 Mar 1992, PDD 59983. TAUPO: Kaimanawa Forest Park, Clements Rd, on N. menziesii wood, P. R. Johnston D299, 22 Nov 1988, PDD 54837; Kaimanawa Forest Park, Clements Rd, on Nothofagus sp. bark, P. R. Johnston D759 & R. E. Halling, 23 Feb 1992, PDD 60516. WESTLAND: vic. Haast, Lake Ellery, on Nothofagus sp. wood, P. R. Johnston D655, 21 Mar 1991, PDD 58589; vic. Haast, Lake Paringa, on Nothofagus sp. bark and wood, P. R. Johnston D672, 22 Mar 1991, PDD 58572.

Apothecia developing on decorticated wood and bark, surface of colonised wood sometimes blackened; apothecia up to 5 mm diam., stipitate, fleshy, tough; disc plane, initially pale grey, deep brownish-yellow with age; receptacle pale yellow-brown to almost black, receptacle covered with numerous, short, fuliginous, somewhat flexuous setae; stipe tapering toward base, dark, often densely covered with pale, flexuous setae. Paraphyses 2-3 µm diam., more or less undifferentiated to apex, often containing dense yellowish material, this released as yellow pigment into KOH. Asci 90-130 x 6.5-7.5 µm, narrow-cylindric, tapering to rounded apex, wall thickened at apex, with elongate, often weakly amyloid pore, 8-spored, with long basal stalk. Ascospores (10-) 12.5-16 (-17) x 3.5-4.5 µm, elliptic-fusoid, inequilateral, slightly flattened one side, slightly wider in upper half, ends rounded, sometimes becoming 1-septate, overlapping uniseriate, often producing small, simple ascoconidia from each end of spore. Ectal excipulum 3-layered; outer layer thin, comprising long cylindric cells, nongelatinous, some cells hyaline, 2-3 µm diam., commonly with short divarications, superimposed by network of brown hyphae 4-5 µm diam. with walls encrusted with dark brown material; central layer comprising tangled, cylindric cells 4-6 µm diam. with walls hyaline, somewhat thickened, agglutinated; inner layer up to 45 µm thick, comprising hyphae 3-4 µm diam. with walls thin, finely encrusted, pale brown, non-gelatinous. Setae arising mostly from dark-walled cells of outer layer of excipulum, but from central layer of excipulum at margin of disc, (100-) 180-400 x 4-7 µm, tapering gradually to rounded apex from base, T- or L-shaped at base, walls smooth, brown towards base, becoming paler toward apex, with uppermost 2-3 cells more or less hyaline, pluriseptate.

APPEARANCE IN CULTURE: OA: 80 mm diam.; aerial mycelium sparse; agar surface variable in pigmentation with black or whitish patches, or pigmentation may be more or less lacking completely, or entire colony may be black. PDA: 70 mm diam.; aerial mycelium lacking; agar surface with irregular patches of dark grey-brown pigment. MEA-M: 80 mm diam.; aerial mycelium low, tufted, arranged in narrow concentric bands, mostly dark grey but with scattered patches with brighter orange-brown colours; in reverse dark grey-brown to grey-purplish. MEA-D: 70 mm diam., aerial mycelium sparse, dark; agar uniformly pigmented dark grey-brown.

T. madsenii is characterised by large apothecia with a broad stipe, narrow, often flexuous setae that commonly have a T-shaped base, and ascospores that often produce ascoconidia. In addition, this is the only Nothofagus-inhabiting species that grows on wood rather than leaves. Previously reported only from Australia (Spooner 1987), the geographical range of this species is widened to New Zealand and southern South America. The stromatic development on the host surface noted by Spooner (1987) for the Australian collections was not present on the collections from New Zealand. Note that the Argentinian collection Singer M3005 was recorded erroneously by Gamundí (1962) as Zoellneria eucalypti.

All collections of this species from New Zealand and South America have been on wood of Nothofagus. Although the host preference of the Australian collections remains uncertain, all the collecting sites reported by Beaton & Weste (1977) and Spooner (1987) have Nothofagus present in patches (T. May, Melbourne Botanic Gardens, pers. comm.), as do those of the additional more recent collections examined from MEL. Torrendiella collections in MEL from wood from sites where Nothofagus is lacking all represent T. clelandii or the T. clelandii-like fungus discussed by Spooner (1987). T. clelandii and T. cf. clelandii may be restricted to Eucalyptus. Apart from the difference in preferred substrate, they can be distinguished from T. madsenii by their larger asci and ascospores, and by having setae unbranched at the base.

Most collections of T. madsenii have been made during summer months, unusual for Torrendiella in the Southern Hemisphere.