Results of the author’s investigation of discomycetes belonging to the family Sarcoscyphaceae recently collected on Madagascar are presented. Phillipsia ranomafanensis sp. nov. is described from Central Madagascar. The new species is distinguished by its large white apothecia with short, inconspicuous thin-walled hyphae on the external surface, and particularly by the small, symmetrical, ellipsoid to attenuate ellipsoid biguttulate ascospores which bear a fine longitudinal striation. The holotype (OSC) of Phillipsia costaricensis Denison - a species which also possesses symmetrical ascospores - has been examined. This Central-American species differs clearly by an ochraceous colour of the apothecia which are externally covered by long, rigid, ande xtremely thick-walled hypha-like hairs, and by uniguttulate, much larger, broadly ellipsoid ascospores bearing a finer and shallower striation and lower and flatter ridges. Type material of several other species of Phillipsia Berk, has also been examined and compared. Further collections of Phillipsia domingensis (Berk.) Berk, from Madagascar are reported and relations within the genus are discussed. Based on the author’s examination of the type material (K) of Peziza cordovensis Cooke and Phillipsia polyporoides Berk., both are tentatively (as the material is in a poor state) considered synonyms of P. domingensis. Ascospore ornamentation of species of the genera Phillipsia and Cookeina Kuntze has been studied and the author concludes that the ornamentation can truly be recognized by SEM only. The discovery of a very fine “amoeboid”-verrucose ascospore ornamentation in Cookeina colensoi (Berk.) Rifai, proved by SEM, is an important result, as the species has commonly been considered a smooth spored one. Illustrations on line drawings and SEM photomicrographs of ascospores of Phillipsia domingensis and Cookeina colensoi and those of ascospores taken from the type material of Phillipsia crenulata Berk. & Br. (K), P. ranomafanensis and P. costaricensis, accompany the paper.
Moravec J. (1997): Discomycetes of Madagascar - I. Phillipsia ranomafanensis sp. nov. and ascospore sculpture of Cookeina colensoi proved by SEM (Discomycetes, Pezizales, Sarcoscyphaceae). – Czech Mycology 50(1): 21–33.
