Xylaria jichuanii W. Y. Zeng & Q. R. Li 2024, sp. nov.

Xylaria jichuanii W. Y. Zeng & Q. R. Li sp. nov. Fig. 2 Etymology. The epithet “ jichuanii ” pays tribute to the renowned mycologist, Prof. Jichuan Kang, in recognition of his valuable contributions to the field of mycology. Type. China. • Guangxi Province, Fangchenggang City, Shiwandashan National Nature Reserve, 21 ° 43 ' 45 ″ N, 107 ° 37 ' 19 ″ E, elev. 459 m, on fallen leaves of unknown plants, August 2023, Wenyu Zeng & Xin Zhou, SWDS 1 (GMB 4703 Holotype; KUN-HKAS 134915 Isotype; GMBC 4703 ex-type). Description. Saprobic on fallen leaves of an unknown plant. Sexual morph: Stromata 1–4.2 cm total length, solitary, upright or prostrate, cylindrical, unbranched, straight to most often sinuous to contorted, the stipe glabrous, 4–18 mm long, the base slightly swollen; fertile part 5–16 × 1–2 mm, cylindrical, surface blackish, with conspicuous to half-exposed perithecial mounds, externally black, interior white. Perithecia 371–776 μm diam., subglobose to globose, texture soft. Ostioles papillate. Asci 84–144 × 5.6–8.6 μm (x ̄ = 119 × 7.5 μm, n = 30), 8 - spored, unitunicate, cylindrical, apically rounded, with a J +, hat-shaped, apical apparatus bluing in Melzer’s reagent, 4–6 × 4–5.5 μm (x ̄ = 4.9 × 5.0 μm, n = 30). Ascospores 13.5–17 × 5–8 μm (x ̄ = 15.1 × 6.5 μm, n = 30), uniseriate, unicellular, brown to dark brown, ellipsoid to inequilateral, with broadly rounded ends, smooth, with a straight germ slit, equal to the length of the spores, lacking sheath; surrounded with a hyaline sheath swelling at both ends to form papillate non-cellular appendages, sometimes retaining a cellular appendage within a noncellular appendage, epispore smooth. Asexual morph: Undetermined. Culture characteristics. Colonies on OA reaching 1.5–2 mm diam. after 2 weeks at 25 ° C, white at first, with irregular margins, then extension spreading toward the edge of the Petri dish; the overall color is light white. Additional material examined. China. • Guangxi Province, Fangchenggang City, Shiwandashan National Nature Reserve, 21 ° 43 ' 55 ″ N, 107 ° 37 ' 24 ″ E, elev. 482 m, on fallen leaves of unknown plants, August 2023, Wenyu Zeng & Xin Zhou, SWDS 1-1 (GMB 4707; GMBC 4707). Notes. Phylogenetically, it is closely related to Xylaria amphithele and X. petchii. However, X. amphithele differ from the new collection by its smaller (≤ 50 mm) stromata which are conical to globose at the fertile part, large asci 130–220 μm in total length with the spore-bearing part being 80–120 μm long. Furthermore, X. amphithele has a smaller apical apparatus (3.5–4.5 × 2–3 μm), and smaller perithecia (300–550 μm broad) (Ju and Hsieh 2023). Xylaria petchii differs by having a conical to subglobose fertile part (1–10 × 0.5–2 mm), composed of clusters of perithecia near the top of the stromata, smaller perithecia (250–550 µm in diameter), and smaller ascospores (7.5–10 × 3.5–5 µm) with a sigmoid germ slit (Ju and Hsieh 2023). Morphologically, it is closely related to X. ficicola, which can be easily distinguished from X. jichuanii by its conical to subglobose capitate fertile head, and larger apical apparatus measuring 5–7.5 × 3–3.5 µm. Additionally, it possesses larger ascospores (16–22.7 × 6.5–8.5 µm) with a round hyaline noncellular appendage of up to 5 × 5 μm (Ma et al. 2011).