Stray Studies in the Coronophorales (Pyrenomycetes) 4-8 - ASCOfrance

294 J. A. Nannfeldttuberculations are formed by aggregations of ± globose cells with walls thicker anddarker, especially peripherally. In a few species some peripheral cells run out intopointed, spine-like processes, which in N. brevispina have an average length of ca.10 ¿im (Munk 1957:185, fig. 67) and in N. broomeiana, where they often are forkedand/or provided with secondary "barbs", may reach a length of 25 /urn or more. InAc. argentinensis, Ac. foveolata and Ac. pulchella the ascocarps are armed with arestricted number of easily broken-off bristles agreeing with those of the subiculum(see above).The basic shape of the ascocarps in HöhnePs Coronophoreen (excl.Coronophorella)is subglobose or broadly ellipsoid, without ostiolum and apical papilla, shrivellingirregularly on drying and only rarely distinctly tuberculate. The ascocarps arerelatively large, in some species (e.g. Coronophora gregaria) even very large,reaching almost 2 mm in diameter. The structure of the peridium agrees with that inthe Nitschkieae.The ascocarpic wall is only slightly thicker basally.In the two genera later added to the Coronophorales, Bertia (moriformis) andGaillardiella (pezizoides)the ascocarps possess well developed basal parts. In theformer the ascocarps are subcylindrical, large and high (up to 0.7x1 mm) and verycoarsely tuberculate (whence the specific epithet). They have no apical papilla anddo not collapse on drying. The apex is unrecognizable externally because of thetuberculations, but thin, exactly median sections show a small "plug" with specialanatomy simulating an ostiolum (Figs, la, b). Due to its minuteness the "plug" wasmissed by Luc, Munk, and Parguey-Leduc, but it was illustrated and described byMüller & Arx (1962:816-818).The ascocarps of G. pezizoides are also rather large (up to l.lxl.l mm) andsubcylindrical but collapse cupulately on drying. The extant material (in FH) is nowso poor that we have in the main to rely upon the detailed studies by Petrak (1953a)and Müller & Arx (1952:818-820). The latter authors, who also draw a section,recognized it as Coronophoralean. It approaches Nitschkia by the collapsingascocarps, but deviates markedly by their size and, especially, by the strong circularthickening of the peridium round the "cup"."Munk pores" (Nannfeldt 1975:51) have been observed in all members studied byme, thus also in the large-fruited (true) Coronophora gregaria, where Munk himselffailed to see them, but their obviousness is very variable, depending both upon thespecies and the stage.The pores are ca. 1 p.m in diam. and surrounded by a ring-shaped thickening of thewall, which makes them look like miniatures of the ring pores of the conifers (Fig.2e). Their number varies with the species. As a rule the common wall between twocells shows only one pore, but on some occasions a higher number seems out ofdoubt.By the way it may be mentioned that Patouillard seems to have been the first to observe thesepores. He drew them carefully in a pencil sketch accompanying the type specimen of hisSvensk Bot. Tidskr. 69 (1975)