Peterjürgen Neumann

First Report of Naemacyclus fimbriatus Infecting Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida)

This is the first report of Naemacyclus fimbriatus (Schwein.) DiCosmo, Peredo & Minter (Rhytismatales) on Pinus rigida, and the first observation of this fungus infecting living needles. N. fimbriatus is known to occur on cone scales of P. brucia, P. halepensis, P. nigra, P. resinosa, and P. sylvestris, as well as fallen needles of P. maritima and P. pinaster, in Europe and North America (1). In September 1997, chlorotic and necrotic second- and third-year needles of pitch pine were observed to have ascomata fruiting bodies that were amphigenous, dark brown to black, immersed to erumpent, circular to subcircular, and 200 to 500 × 150 to 250 μm in size. Asci were club-shaped, eight-spored, and 83 to 98× 8.9 to 9.7 μm. Mature ascospores were phragmo-scolecosporous, 7-septate, and 78 to 91 × 2 to 2.5 μm. From these symptomatic needles, N. fimbriatus was frequently (>70%) isolated on 2% malt agar. In October 1997, fruiting bodies were also observed on dead fallen cones. During the autumn, the fungus produced 1 to 3 brown mycelial cords, 50 to 100 μm in diameter, which grew throughout the litter from the ascomata. The nature of the cords is still unknown. Pitch pine is rare in Québec, and this northernmost population is located about 10 km north of New York State, in the St. Lawrence Valley of Québec. We found that pitch pine was colonized by the fungus in a wide range of edaphic conditions, but more frequently on dry rock outcrops. We believe that unfavorable conditions such as the more than 200 days with frost and thin organic or mineral soil layer may predispose pitch pine to infection by this fungus. Reference: (1) F. Di Cosmo et al. Mycotaxon 21:1, 1984.

Diarimella laurentidae anam.: sp.nov. from Quebec

Diarimella laurentidae, a new species occurring on dead bark and decorticated twigs of American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.), is reported from the Muirs Wood ecological reserve, located in the centre of the Haut-Saint-Laurent region in the province of Quebec. Diarimella laurentidae is characterized by stromatic, pulvinate, black, setose fructifications composed of a basal stroma of textura angularis, a brown peripheral wall of textura porrecta, conidiomatal setae of two types, and unicellular multisetulate conidia. Its relationships with described Diarimella species is discussed. This is the first report of a species of Diarimella from North America.Key words: Diarimella laurentidae, new fungus species, coelomycete, Fagus grandifolia.

New hosts for Choanatiara lunata

Choanatiara lunata is a coelomycetous fungus producing conidia with funnel-shaped appendages. The species was originally reported on fallen needles of Pinus resinosa and P. strobus in Ontario, Canada. Our systematic work on coelomycetes in Pinus spp. was carried out on 29 different pine hosts (species, varieties, forms or cultivars) at the arboretum of the Montreal Botanical Garden. Choanatiara lunata was isolated (on PDA, MA, CMA) from 9 (31%) of the pine hosts investigated. From those, four hosts are species indigenous to North America: P. albicaulis (subgenus Haploxylon), P. resinosa, P. ponderosa, and P. jeffreyi (subgenus Diploxylon). The other five hosts are pines exotic to North America. Three are indigenous to Europe: P. nigra ‘Laricio’, P. nigra ‘Nigra’, and P. nigra ‘Pallasiana’ (subgenus Diploxylon), and two are indigenous to East Asia: P. densiflora and P. tabulaeformis (subgenus Diploxylon). Except for P. resinosa, these are all new hosts for this fungus. The fungus was associated with sympto...