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Substrate: Abies balsamea. On large masses of male cone bases from 2 years ago.

Habitat: High tide line along sandy beach, at the edge of a mature Picea rubens, Abies balsamea, Betula papyrifera, B. cordifolia forest. Alnus alnobetula abundant along high tide line.

Description: Discomycete. Stromata arising from the old points of attachment of male cones, black, globose with a central depression. Apothecia erumpent through the rind of the sclerotia, pale brown, furfuraceous, substipitate, with incurved margins, hymenium dark brown. Ectal excipulum of swollen, thin-walled, brown textura prismatica, medullary excipulum of loose, hyaline textura intricata. Subhymenium indistinct. Margin composed of thin-walled, brown, parallel hyphae. Paraphyses sparsely septate, sparsely branched, brown, giving the hymenium a distinct yellow-brown colour in cross section, thin-walled, 2.2-3.8mu wide, with swollen apices becoming 6.9-7.7mu wide, apical encrustations not observed. Asci unitunicate, 8-spored, uniseriate, 208-250x19-20mu, with an apical channel readily staining orange-brown in J, 3.1-4.0x6.0-9.2mu. Ascospores hyaline, ellipsoid-fusiform, often with one or both ends tapered to a point, 32-36x16-17mu, thin-walled and smooth-walled, lacking a gelatinous sheath.

Notes: Causes irregular density of male cones on branch tips, but this usually does not kill the branch.

Identification Reference: Sutherland et al. (1987) Cone and seed diseases of North American conifers

a rather distinctive species that is recognized by the production of darkly pigmented "corn on the kob" shaped conidia in a sporodochia on wet rotten wood

the Conidia of this collection measured 45 - 115 x 20 - 28 and were fuscous to dark brown

this description overlap B. lingula but the latter produce obclavate conidia

Finally! After all these years, I am able to see this peculiar species!

Found growing on wet, rotten, wood of Populus tremuloides

synnemata, isolate, +- indeterminate, white, with transluscent stipe. Clamp connection at some septa. Conidiogenesis not observed. Conidia, hyaline, flat, formed with four symmetrical lobes, giving it the appearance of a Four-leaf clover or a poppy flower. Conidia probably attached flat on the top of the conidiophore. Conidia measure 9 - 12µm in length. and about 4-6µm in height.

Conidia, rarely, with 5 lobes, perhaps finding one is a sign of good luck

The distinctive conidia, synnematous conidiomata and clamps connection make this species unique

On Trametes versicolor. Turns dark purple in KOH, then fades to red. Ascospores warted, 1-septate, apiculate with pointy projections, 16-25 x 4-5.5µm. Conidiospores broadly ellipsoid, 1-septate, 12-15 x 7.5-8µm.

@georgeg any thoughts welcome - I don't have any experience with this group and interested in opinions!

Asci 4-spored. Spores ellipsoid, ~23 um x 10um. Seems to key to the group Octospora gemmicola var. tetraspora, O. itzerottii, O. leucoloma var. tetraspora using this key:
http://www.octospora.de/pdf/key_main_groups.pdf

little sporodochial anamorph on a twich of Populus sp. (probably).

Sporodochia up to 0.5 mm wide, effuse or even cupulate, vivid yellow, gelatinous when hydrated.

Conidiophore arise from a darkly pigmented basal stroma, conidiophore branched, somewhat phiallidic. Conidiogenesis unclear, conidia produced apicaly from elongated +- phialide like conidiogenous cells, might also produce a short bowl shaped collarette, but this is somewhat unclear.

Conidia smooth, globose 1.7-2.2

This organism seem to be quite similar to other collection using this name on the web. as I understand, the genus Dendrodochium is considered synonymous with Clonostachys. However, I do not believe this specific species is congeneric with Clonostachys, but as far as I know, it have not been studied recently, and its relationship with other species is unknown

Unfortunately I have no in situ photographs. These were found in leaf litter in Beech/Hemlock woods. The largest fruiting body is 5.5cm tall, the head is 2cm tall and 1cm wide. The smaller fruiting bodies are about 4cm tall. Both the head and the stem feature black velvety hairs.

A spore drop produced mostly aseptate, light brown, guttulate spores. Spores in ascus were darker brown and usually 3-5 septate, 57-72 x 4.8-6µm, Q=11.8.

Asci around 170-180 x 14-16µm.

Paraphyses sometimes curled, not very or perhaps occasionally swollen at the tips, sparsely septate.