Xylaria liquidambaris J. D. Rogers, Y. M. Ju & F. San Martín, Sydowia 54 (1): 92. 2002 Fig. 4 Teleomorph. Stromata upright, solitary or sometimes clustered, unbranched or occasionally branched, 1.2–8.0 cm total height; fertile parts 6–25 mm high × 1.5–5.0 mm broad, cylindrical with acute sterile apices, at times longitudinally furrowed, with wrinkles isolating somewhat prominent perithecia; stipes 6–55 mm high × 1.0– 2.5 mm broad, glabrous to pubescent arising from a pannose base; surface dark brown to black, interior white, with dark brown to black a circle, and white at center. Texture solid, soft, woody. Perithecia subglobose, 250–400 µm. Ostioles conic-papillate. Asci eight-spored arranged in uniseriate manner, cylindrical, long-stipitate, (110 –) 125–145 (– 165) µm total length, the spore-bearing parts (80 –) 90–105 (– 115) µm long × (6 –) 7–8 (– 8.5) µm broad, the stipes 30–60 µm long, with apical ring bluing in Melzer’s reagent, inverted hap-shaped to more or less rectangular, 2.5–3.5 µm high × 2.0–2.5 µm diam. Ascospores brown, unicellular, ellipsoid-inequilateral with narrowly to broadly rounded ends, smooth, (12.5 –) 13–14 (– 15) × (4.8 –) 5.5–6.5 (– 6.8) µm (M = 13.5 × 6.1 µm, Q = 2.2, n = 90 / 3), with spiraling germ slit, lacking a sheath or appendages in india ink or 1 % SDS. Specimens examined. China. Guangdong Province, Chebaling Nature Reserve, on fruits of Liquidambar formosana, 26 June 2010, Ma Haixia, Col. 10062607; Fengkai County, Heishiding Nature Reserve, on fruits of L. formosana, 2 July 2010, Ma Haixia, Col. 10070206; Jiangxi Province, Guanshan Nature Reserve, on fruits of L. formosana, 21 June 2013, Ma Haixia, FCATAS 873 (Col. 16); Fuzhou City, Tang Xianzu Museum, on fruits of L. formosana, 17 June 2013, Ma Haixia, FCATAS 877 (Col. 36); Anyuan County, Sanbai Mountain Nature Reserve, on fruits of L. formosana, 15 August 2016, Ma Haixia, FCATAS 878 (Col. O 37); Zhejiang Province, Tianmu Mountain Nature Reserve, on fruits of L. formosana, 6 August 2013, Ma Haixia, FCATAS 872 (Col. 10); Gutian Mountain Nature Reserve, on fruits of L. formosana, 13 August 2013, Ma Haixia, FCATAS 496 (Col. 29); Anhui Province, Huangshan City, Qiman County, Guniujiang Nature Reserve, on fruits of L. formosana, 8 August 2013, Ma Haixia, FCATAS 874 (Col. 19); Huangshan Nature Reserve, on fruits of L. formosana, 27 June 2019, Ma Haixia, FCATAS 879 (Col. P 6); Hainan Province, Diaoluoshan Nature Reserve, on fruits of L. formosana, 31 December 2020, Ma Haixia, FCATAS 880 (Col. Z 211). Notes. Xylaria liquidambaris was originally described by Rogers et al. (2002) from USA, and has high specificity to fruits of Liquidambar (Altingiaceae). It is characterized by unbranched stromata with acute sterile apex, embedded to slightly prominent perithecia with longitudinal striations, brown ascospores with long spiraling germ slit (Rogers et al. 2002). These Chinese materials well fit the descriptions and illustrations of X. liquidambaris by Rogers et al. (2002).

Published as part of Zhu, An-Hong, Song, Zi-Kun, Wang, Jun-Fang, Guan, Hao-Wen, Qu, Zhi & Ma, Hai-Xia, 2024, Multi-gene phylogenetic and taxonomic contributions to Xylaria (Ascomycota) associated with fallen fruits from China, pp. 23-41 in MycoKeys 106 on pages 23-41, DOI: 10.3897/mycokeys.106.124944