Daldinia childiae

Chlebicki, Andrzej, 2022, Revision of the genus Daldinia in the KRAM herbarium collection: Daldinia CHildiae, D. loCUlata and D. loCUlatoides, three new species for Poland, Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis Studia Naturae 7, pp. 61-73 : 62-64

Daldinia childiae J.D. Rogers & Y. -M. Ju,

Mycotaxon 72: 512–513, 1999.

Stromata subglobose and turbinate, measuring up to 2 cm in diameter. The KOHextractable stromatal pigments yellowish or yellow-brown in colour ( Fig. 1A ). Ascospores with narrowly-rounded ends, 13–14 × 6.3–7 µm ( Fig. 2C ). The transverse striation of episporium mostly loosely distributed ( Fig.3).

Specimens examined:

1) Poland: the Sudetes, the Bystrzyckie Mts., the Topieliska Nature Reserve near Zieleniec, on a branch of Betula sp. , 29 August 1984, leg. A. Chlebicki, KRAM F 40392 (as D. concentrica ).

2) Poland: Western Carpathians, Orawa-Nowy Targ Basin, near the road from Rogoźnik to Stare Bystre, ca. eight km southwest of Nowy Targ, ca. 620 m a.s.l., on a trunk of Salix sp. , 7 June 1970, leg. Z. Heinrich, KRAM F 27202 (as D. concentrica ).

3) Poland: Western Carpathians, the Pieniny Mts., the Skalice Range, in the forest near Łapsze Niżne, 18 km southeast from Nowy Targ, ca. 600 m a.s.l., on dead wood (possibly Salix sp. ), 1 June 1979, collector unknown, KRAM F 31870 (as D. concentrica ).

4) Poland: Western Carpathians , the Bieszczady Zachodnie Mts. , Nasiczne, on a dead trunk of Alnus incana ( L.) Moench, 26 December 2011, leg. A. Wilczek, KRAM F without number .

Comments: The perfect state of D. childiae is host-limited to the angiosperm trees but its anamorph can inhabit a wide range of angiosperms as an endophyte ( Stadler et al., 2014). It also occasionally occurs on gymnosperm hosts (i.e., Cryptomeria ). The transverse striation of the spores of D. childiae is conspicuous and loosely distributed as compared to D. concentrica and D. eschscholtzii ( Fig. 3).

In the autumn of 2011, an insect larva inside of D. childiae stromata was noted (Eastern Carpathians, Bieszczady Zachodnie Mts, Nasiczne). In the spring of 2012, the imago of a fly was found inside a box with Daldinia ( Fig. 4 ). This fly possibly belongs to the old branch of wood-inhabiting Agromyzidae (T. Zatwarnicki and A. Palaczyk, pers. comm.).

Figures

Fig.1. KOH-extractable stromatal pigments:Daldinia childiae – A,D.concentrica – B, D.eschscholtzii – C, D.lloydii – D, D.loculata – E, D.loculatoides – F,D.decipiens – G, D.vernicosa – H, D.petriniae – I (Photo. A.Chlebicki)

Fig.2. Ascospores: Daldinia loculata – A, D. decipiens – B, D. childiae – C, D. vernicosa – D (Photo. A.Chlebicki)

Fig.4. Larva and imago of fly possibly from the family Agromyzidae, noted on old stromata of Daldinia childiae (Photo. A.Chlebicki)