Hi!

This is very interesting! Maybe some species of Boubovia but I'm not at home at the moment (thus without our preliminary Pez-key and related literature). When I'll be home first thing at tomorrow evening I'll make a check. Do you still have it at statu vivo???

Cheers,

Neven

Hi,

thank you very much. Yes I have still a part of it. I can check it again or I can send you the finding. Many thanks for the tip again ;)

regards,
kazuya

Hi Kazuya!

Well, yes! If it isn't problem we'd like to study your specimen (if possible in living state) as we (Ivana Kušan & me) are recently rather focused in Pulvinula/Boubovia/Psilopezia/Ascodesmis/Geopyxis group. We'd like to apply some special tests (CRB, CRB-OH, CRaq, AC-OH etc) to get a picture where we could really see such creature in view of our revised pezizalean genera (still almost totally unpubl).

But, we can only pray the shipment could arrive to Croatia in good order. There is no guarantee! If material survive and if this item would turn out to be publicable as a separate paper we could publish it together if you like. Furthermore, Ivana and me could maybe add something of ours if would fit in the "same story"

This little beauty is perhaps something inside the group but to tell you the thruth - hairs are rather "crazy" here ;-)

Besides, I cannot recollect in my mind (still out of office) any particular Boubovia that would fit. Anyway, I'll check back later!

The most successful shipments abroad of collections to my home (Asco-Lab) address were so far plain envelops with no special data labeled. Otherwise, the shipment may stuck at our custom for weeks and I could be asked to pay substantial amounts of money for it (Croatia is not a EU member at the moment) and anyway the material would completely got rotten when it finally arrive at our hands! It would be best if apothecium is still at least partially attached to its substrate; to place it in flat firm plastic box with firmly closed lid; onto peace of very slightly moistened paper handkerchief; surrounded with humid moss and covered by fallen leaf.

If you still wish to try it, my home address is:

Neven Matocec
Plešivica 6F, Plešivica
HR-10450 Jastrebarsko
Croatia

Otherwise, I could write you somewhat later what you might do further with the rest of the apothecium.

Very many thanks!

P.S. We could also use some basic data of the material to know the organism better (very rough geographic position and macrohabitat respectively). Substrate was charcoal, right?

Neven

Hi Neven,

thank you again for the infos. Well the apothecia was a single one and of course, it is in bad condition after lying in a plastic box with nothing else but soil. It is also dry now. I am also not at home at the moment, but I will write this evening about the condition of the apothecia. If it is good, I will try to send you ;)

if more infos are needed, tell me. Substrate CAN be charcoal, it was on the edge of a young Picea-forest on a "stoney" ground. If charcoal is inclused, is not sure, because on some places I have found charcoal, but not (?) on the place where this specie was found...so I am not sure. 

regards,
kazuya

Hi again!

I've just checked Yao&Spooner (1996) Boubovia key and few other refs incl. our treatments of some probable unnamed species and found no match to your collection.

What's more interesting the hairs and pretty broad stout paraphyses are clearly out from that genus. Consequently the collection remains clothed in the veil of mystery until more research is done!

Of course both mentioned caracters is also out of place in whole group (the species should be hairless, with very much early exposing apothecia and filiform bent to contorted paraphyses) but Psilopeza clade to which I really do not think it is related to.

The only possible option I think it would be Scutellinia group...so let's hope we'll be lucky with postal service!

Good night,
Neven

Hm that is crazy. Well, I have a bad message: the fruitbody does not exist anymore, after 2 times under the microscope and lying dry in a plastic box. I am very sorry. 

BUT: I will check the location for the next days, weeks and years, and hope, that more fruitbodies will appear. Ok? I'll promise this and I am very sorry again :(

regards,
kazuya

Oh! Don't worry! Ivana & me already faced with such bizarre situations with some strange finds. Typically, a single apothecium is found, checked quickly with conclusion that tomorrow we'll deal with it in more detail but tomorrow's morning usually brings some urgent complicated situation and when finally got back to our beloved rarity it got deteriorated already.

So, if and when you come accross to this fungus again - we'll be ready and equally willing to operate in the same manner! But, take your time. Fungi are comming into our hands most efficiently when we even not looking for them :-)

Cheers,
Neven

Thank you very much Neven, I wrote down your adress and the next one will be on the way to croatia :D

regards,
kazuya