Phyllactinia himalayensis I. Zafar, Afshan & Khalid, 2022

Zafar, Irsa, Afshan, Najam-Ul-Sehar, Khalid, Abdul Nasir, Liu, Shu-Yan & Tang, Shu-Rong, 2022, Phyllactinia himalayensis, a new species on Juglans regia from Pakistan, Phytotaxa 548 (2), pp. 267-276 : 271

Phyllactinia himalayensis I. Zafar, Afshan & Khalid sp. nov. ( Figs 2 , 3 ) MycoBank no. 843800

Diagnosis:— Phyllactinia himalayensis is distinguished from the phylogenetically allied species Ph. betulae and Ph. linderae by its large-sized chasmothecia, up to 280 µm diam., rather shorter appendages, 68‒184 µm, small ascospores, 10‒20 × 7‒13 µm, and its distinct position in the phylogenetic analysis.

Type:— PAKISTAN. Azad Jammu & Kashmir: Poonch, 33.76°N, 74.09°E, 1,006 m alt., on leaves of Juglans regia L., 9 Dec. 2021, I . Zafar and N. S. Afshan [AJK-07] ( LAH 37119– holotype). GenBank accession number: ( ON 332255 ) .

Etymology:— the species epithet refers to the type locality, Himalayan forest, Pakistan.

Description:— MYCELIUM hypophyllous, external, effuse, evanescent.CHASMOTHECIA scattered to gregarious, black, globose to subglobose, 190‒280 µm diam. PERIDIUM CELLS conspicuous, regularly hexagonal, sometimes polygonal, 7‒20 µm diam. APPENDAGES equatorial, 6–12, stiff, 68‒184 µm long and 5‒12 µm wide, bulbous basal swelling 21‒27 × 33‒40 µm, apex pointed, 0.5‒1 times as long as the chasmothecial diam., thick-walled, up to 6 µm wide below. ASCI 5‒10, broad ellipsoid, obovoid, clavate, 55‒86 × 20‒38 µm, short stalked, content yellowish, wall up to 3 µm thick, 2‒3-spored. ASCOSPORES ellipsoid to ovoid, 10‒20 × 7‒13 µm, colourless, sometimes yellowish.

Additional material examined:— PAKISTAN. Azad Jammu & Kashmir: District Bagh, 33.9735°N, 73.7918°E, 1676 m alt., on leaves of Juglans regia , 9 Oct. 2020, I . Zafar and N.S. Afshan [AJK-30] ( LAH 37118). GenBank accession number: ( ON 332222 ) .

Figures

FIGURE 2. A. Infected leaves of Juglans regia (LAH37119, holotype) infected by Phyllactinia himalayensis. B. LAH37118.C. Infection under stereomicroscope, showing chasmothecia. D. Chasmothecium. E–F. Chasmothecia with appendages. G. Asci. H. Asci releasing ascospores. Scale bars:A = 2 cm, B = 1 cm, D–F = 30 µm G = 20 µm, H = 15 µm.

FIGURE 3. Line drawings of Phyllactinia himalayensis.A. Chasmothecium. B. Ascospores. C. Ascus with ascospores. Scale bars:A = 40 µm, B = 10 µm, C = 15 µm. Drawings by Irsa Zafar.