Corticolous Myxomycetes II: Notes on Minakatella Longifila with Ultrastructural Evidence for its Transfer to the Trichiaceae

SUMMARY

Minakatella longifila G. Lister is an apparently widely distributed, corticolous myxomycele that in most cases produces pseudoaethalioid to aethalioid fructifications which can easily be seen with the naked eye. A detailed species description is given based on observations of recent new collections from five different states. Ultrastructural examination reveals that the capillitial threads are not solid as some of the literature indicates, but are either hollow or plugged with bacteria. The taxonomic position of Minakatella is reviewed and its transfer from the Dianemaceae to the Trichiaceae proposed. Relationships of Minakatella with Calomyxa and Perichaena are discussed, and its affinity for either of these genera is regarded as uncertain at the present time. Therefore, Minakatella is retained as a monotypic genus.