Xylaria culleniae

Xylaria culleniae belongs to the family Xylariaceae.^[1][2] The species grows on fruits^[3] and seeds are generally considered as host-specific. This species was collected from Sri Lanka during July 1868^[4] by George Gardner (botanist) and George Henry Kendrick Thwaites^[5] who was superintendent of the botanical gardens at Peradeniya, Ceylon. The specimens were sent for identification to Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew^[6] in 1872.^[4] There English botanists and mycologists Miles Joseph Berkeley and Christopher Edmund Broome described this species in 1873.^[4]

This species is reported from Sri Lanka,^[4][3] China,^[7] Thailand^[8][9][10] and Anaimalai Hills Southern Western Ghats, India.^[11] This species is also known to occur in Central America, South America and Africa.^[12]

The fruit bodies are erect, elongated black branches, whitened from midway to tips. The hairs of stem is septate.^[4] The ascospores (fruit bodies) of X. culleniae relatively smaller and the stromata are generally less robust. Spore dimensions are 8.5-9.5 X 3.5-4.5 μm.^[12] Sporidia .016 X .005 - .006 mm.^[13] Color of the spores are brown and are ellipsoid or inequilateral in shape. Germ slit is straight and long. Length of stroma is up to 7 cm.^[12] Stromata unbranched or branched, cylindrical, long conical. Texture soft. Perithecia 0.1-0.3 mm diam. Ostioles minutely papillate.^[10]

X. culleniae are recorded growing on Cullenia exarillata pods^[14] hence the species name culleniae. It is assumed to be host-specific, however it has been recorded growing on and Inga sp. fruits^[12] which is a Legume. Hence their host specificity is uncertain.^[15]