TYPE. UNITED STATES. Florida, Florida Keys, Umbrella Key, A.H. Curtiss s.n. (FH, holotype; US, isotype). “Upon Trypethelium Carolinianum, Tuckerm, [Bathelium carolinianum], on bark, Florida, A.H. Curtiss in herb. Sprague.” (Tuckerman 1888).
Life form. Lichenicolous fungus.
Description.Thallus absent; photobiont absent. Ascomata scattered, solitary or in small groups, black, rounded or ± irregular in outline, sessile, initally perithecoid, closed, then split open apically, the outer layer crumbling and exposing the disk, finally apothecoid; disk rough, matt, narrowed, 0.3-0.45 mm diam.; margin thin, sometimes slightly shiny margin. Exciple in section pseudoparenchymous, uniformly 10-20 μm thick, densely encrusted with black-purple or black-bluish, only brown at the base, cells clearly visible; hypothecium hyaline; hymenium hyaline, 55-65 μm high; epihymenium black-bluish or dark purple. Paraphysoids septate, branched, anastomosing, 2-2.5 μm thick, ends slightly clubbed and only slightly pigmented, embedded in a black-bluish or black-purple jelly. Asci bitunicate, broad-lobed to bulbous, endoascus thickened at the broadly rounded apex, (4-6) 8-spored, 35-45 x 17-23 μm; ascospores light brown, two-celled, with a thin wall, one cell significantly wider than the other, which is often slightly shorter, broadly rounded at both ends, without perispore, (16-)17.5-19 x (8-)9.8-11.5 μm.
Chemistry. All ascomatal structures I-.
Host. Trypethelioid lichens.
Distribution. Southeastern North America, also reported from South America (Diederich 2016); in North Carolina found in the Coastal Plain eocregion.
Literature
Diederich, P. (2003) New species and new records of American lichenicolous fungi [Neue Arten und neue Funde von amerkanischen lichenicolen Pilzen]. Herzogia16: 41-90.
Fink, B. (1935) The Lichen Flora of the United States. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor. 426 pp.
Hafellner, J. (1979) Karschia. Revision einer Sammelgattung an der Grenze von lichenisierten und nichlichenisierten Ascomyceten. Beiheft zur Nova Hedwigia62: 1-248.
Tuckerman, E. (1888) A synopsis of the North American lichens. Part. II. Comprising the Lecideacei, and (in part) the Graphidacei. New Bedford, Mass. 176 pp.