Melicytus ramiflorus Forst. Auckland. Little Barrier Island, November 1947, J.M.D.; Waitakere Ra., Cutty Grass Road, August 1948, J.M.D. (type collection); Cascade Kauri Park, May 1948, J.M.D. Beilschmiedia tawa (A.Cunn.) Hook.f. and Benth. Auckland. Rotorua, near Waiotapu, June 1950, J.M.D.

Stroma discoidal, sometimes concave, 1-4 mm. diameter, 1 mm. high, scattered, luteous or ochraceous, translucent, punctate with dark spores in underlying perithecia, margins thickened, rounded, free, centrally attached to host, sometimes appearing as if shortly stipitate; pseudoparenchymatous, outer cells small, 2-4 µ, lightly pigmented, not thickened, inner cells 10 µ diameter, hyaline, collapsed in dried specimen. Perithecia oval or globose, 0.2-0.3 x 0.3 mm., superficially arranged and confined to the centre of the disc, margins sterile, ostiole 80-100 µ long, papillated above surface of stroma, perithecial wall 20 µ thick, hyaline but distinct. Asci cylindrical 45-65 µ x 4 µ, thin walled, with 16 unicellular part-spores, uniseriate; pseudoparaphyses evanescent. Part-spores globose or cuboid, 2.5-3.5 µ diam., olivaceous, echinulate.

Distribution: New Zealand.

Habitat: On dead branches.

Stroma discoidale 1-4 min. diam., 1 mm. densum, ochraceum vel luteum translucens, in peritheciis substratis sporis fuscis punctatum, marginibus rotundis, densatis, liberis. Perithecia ovata vel globosa 0.2-0.3 x 0.3 mm., in regione superficiali stromatis immersa, ostiolo 80-100 µ longo, papillato. Asci cylindrici 45-65 µ x 4 µ, 16 sporis divisis, unicellularibas, pseudoparaphysibus absentibus. Sporae divisae globosae vel cuboides 2. 5-3.5 µ, echinulatae, olivaeeae.

When immature, this species appears similar to small specimens of H. gelatinosa. The immature stroma is bright yellow and translucent and is similar in appearance to a discomycete. It differs from H. gelatinosa in that perithecia are sunken in the stroma, never causing the stroma to be tuberculate, but as in H. gelatinosa the mature stroma appears dark coloured with the pigmented spores in the underlying perithecia. Part-spores are evenly divided into globose or cuboid, echinulate spores. Immature specimens forwarded to Kew by Colenso (b229) are labelled H. saccharina Berk. and Curt. on the sheet. Other specimens collected by Colenso and determined as H. saccharina by Cooke have been renamed H. colensoi by C.G.Lloyd (1924).

Auckland. Little Barrier Island, November 1947, J.M.D.; Waitakere Ra., Cutty Grass Road, August 1948, J.M.D. (type collection)