Fungalpedia – Note 1782, Velutarina
Velutarina Korf
Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank.
Classification: Cenangiaceae, Helotiales, Leotiomycetidae, Leotiomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi
The genus is characterised by erumpent, sessile, brown, externally pruinose-tomentose, rather thick, cleistohymenial apothecia. Based on multigene phylogeny, Velutarina is paraphyletic. The type species of the genus, V. rufoolivacea, resembles most its phylogenetically closest species, Encoelia furfuracea, from which it differs mainly in the broadly ellipsoid ascospores. A similar apothecial development with a late opening in the mesohymenial phase is notable for both taxa. Moreover, both taxa have tough and revivable apothecia with the rust-brownish outer surface that appears furfuraceous due to globose excipular cells, which are loosely interconnected and lack hyphal orientation. These cells rarely exceed 15 μm in diam., but in V. rufoolivacea some can measure up to 30 μm in diam. and have a greenish vacuolar content. Such greenish vesicular cells are found mainly in the medullary excipulum, and are absent in E. furfuracea. However, the same greenish or chlorinaceous vacuolar sap is found in the living terminal cells of paraphyses in both species. These morphological differences between V. rufoolivacea and E. furfuracea (Suppl. Tab. 3), together with some additional aspects pointed out by Kohn (1977), do not support merging the two species into one genus. Recently described Velutarina bertiscensis and „V.B alpestris specimens from Europe lack oversized cells with greenish content and amyloid asci, and V. bertiscensis also lacks the refractive vacuoles in the paraphyses (Baral and Perić 2014, see also Suppl. Tab. 3). ITS sequences could not be obtained for V. rufoolivacea and V. bertiscensis. Further studies are needed to resolve the generic placement of Velutarina spp.
Type species: Velutarina rufoolivacea (Alb. & Schwein.)
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Velutarina.
References
Pärtel K, Baral HO, Tamm H, Pôldmaa K. 2017 – Evidence for the polyphyly of Encoelia and Encoelioideae with reconsideration of respective families in Leotiomycetes. Fungal Diversity. 82:183–219. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13225-016-0370-0.