Xylariales (Sordariomycetes, Ascomycota) of the Boston Harbor Islands

Abstract

The Xylariales (Sordariomycetes, Ascomycota) is an order of mostly stromatic perithecial fungi generally inhabiting wood and other plant debris, as well as some important plant pathogenic species. As a follow-up to an extensive fungal inventory conducted by D. Haelewaters and colleagues since December 2012 at the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area in Massachusetts, I examined members of the Xylariales in detail, including previously unreported collections. I constructed keys for included taxa, and I provide species notes, references, substrate, and collecting data of the following Xylarialean genera: Diatrype, Eutypa, Eutypella (Diatrypaceae); Biscogniauxia, Camillea, Graphostroma (Graphostromataceae); Annulohypoxylon, Daldinia, Hypomontagnella, Hypoxylon, Jackrogersella (Hypoxylaceae); Lopadostoma (Lopadostomataceae); and Entoleuca, Kretzschmaria, Nemania, Rosellinia, Xylaria (Xylariaceae). I herein formally describe a new species, Xylaria finismundoensis sp. nov., based on combined morphology and multi-locus phylogenetic analysis. This taxon provides the first evidence of a saprotrophic lifestyle for members of the E9 phylogenetic clade of Xylaria, previously only known as endophytes.