''Xylaria culleniae'' is a species of fungus in the family

Xylariaceae The Xylariaceae are a family of mostly small ascomycetous fungi. It is one of the most commonly encountered groups of ascomycetes and is found throughout the temperate and tropical regions of the world. They are typically found on wood, seeds, f ...

. This species known to grow on dried fruits and seeds.

Taxonomy

''Xylaria culleniae'' belongs to the family Xylariaceae. The species grows on fruits and seeds are generally considered as host-specific. This species was collected from Sri Lanka during July 1868 by

George Gardner (botanist) George Gardner (1810, Ardentinny – 1849, Kandy) was a Scottish biologist mainly interested in botany. Gardner's father was a gardener first to the Earl of Dunmore in Ardentinny, then from 1816 to the Earl of Eglinton at Ardrossan. In 1822, hi ...

and

George Henry Kendrick Thwaites George Henry Kendrick Thwaites (9 July 1812, Bristol – 11 September 1882, Kandy) was an English botanist and entomologist. Thwaites was initially an accountant and studied botany during his spare time. He was interested particularly in the lo ...

who was superintendent of the botanical gardens at

Peradeniya Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය, translit=Pēradeniya; ta, பேராதனை, translit=Pērātaṉai) is a suburb of the city of Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a m ...

, Ceylon. The specimens were sent for identification to

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

in 1872. There English botanists and mycologists

Miles Joseph Berkeley Miles Joseph Berkeley (1 April 1803 – 30 July 1889) was an English cryptogamist and clergyman, and one of the founders of the science of plant pathology. Life Berkeley was born at Biggin Hall, Benefield, Northamptonshire, and educated at R ...

and

Christopher Edmund Broome Christopher Edmund Broome (24 July 1812 – 15 November 1886) was a British mycologist. Background and education C.E. Broome was born in Berkhamsted, the son of a solicitor. He was privately schooled in Kensington and in 1832 was sent to read ...

described this species in 1873.

Distribution

This species is reported from Sri Lanka, China, ThailandMekkamol S. 1998
Endophytic fungi of Tectona grandis L (Teak)
PhD Thesis, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK. and

Anaimalai Hills The Anamala or Anaimalai, also known as the Elephant Mountains, are a range of mountains in the southern Western Ghats of central Kerala ( Idukki district, Ernakulam district, Palakkad district, Thrissur district) and span the border of wes ...

Southern Western Ghats, India. This species is also known to occur in Central America, South America and Africa.

Description

The fruit bodies are erect, elongated black branches, whitened from midway to tips. The hairs of stem is

septate In biology, a septum (Latin for ''something that encloses''; plural septa) is a wall, dividing a cavity or structure into smaller ones. A cavity or structure divided in this way may be referred to as septate. Examples Human anatomy * Interatri ...

. The

ascospores An ascus (; ) is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in ascomycete fungi. Each ascus usually contains eight ascospores (or octad), produced by meiosis followed, in most species, by a mitotic cell division. However, asci in some genera or ...

(fruit bodies) of ''X. culleniae'' relatively smaller and the

stromata The ''Stromata'' ( el, Στρώματα), a mistake for ''Stromateis'' (Στρωματεῖς, "Patchwork," i.e., ''Miscellanies''), attributed to Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c. 215), is the third of a trilogy of works regarding the Christ ...

are generally less robust. Spore dimensions are 8.5-9.5 X 3.5-4.5 μm.

Sporidia ''Sporidia'' are result of homokaryotic smut fungi (which are not pathogenic), asexual reproduction through the process of budding. Thus far, this has only been observed ''in vitro''. References

*C.J. Alexopolous, Charles W. Mims, M. Blackwe ...

.016 X .005 - .006 mm. Color of the spores are brown and are ellipsoid or inequilateral in shape. Germ slit is straight and long. Length of stroma is up to 7 cm. Stromata unbranched or branched, cylindrical, long conical. Texture soft.

Perithecia An ascocarp, or ascoma (), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. Ascocarps are mo ...

0.1-0.3 mm diam. Ostioles minutely papillate.

Hosts plants

''X. culleniae'' are recorded growing on ''

Cullenia exarillata ''Cullenia exarillata'' is a flowering plant evergreen tree species in the family Malvaceae endemic to the rainforests of the southern Western Ghats in India. It is one of the characteristic trees of the mid-elevation tropical wet evergreen rai ...

'' pods hence the species name ''culleniae.'' It is assumed to be host-specific, however it has been recorded growing on and ''

Inga ''Inga'' is a genus of small tropical, tough-leaved, nitrogen-fixing treesElkan, Daniel. "Slash-and-burn farming has become a major threat to the world's rainforest" ''The Guardian'' 21 April 2004 and shrubs, subfamily Mimosoideae. ''Inga''s l ...

'' sp. fruits which is a

Legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...

. Hence their host specificity is uncertain.

References

External links

GBIF
{{Taxonbar, from=Q10723084 Xylariales Fungi of Asia Inedible fungi Fungi described in 1873