This tiny, striking Xylaria species, with its nearly naked perithecia, has become the poster child for Xylariaceae research in Los Cedros. Roo and I thought they looked a bit like these in cross section:

These are Kodama, the forest spirits of Japanese folklore, as portrayed by Hayao Miyazaki in his epic 1997 film, Princess Mononoke.

This is likely the first record of X. tucumanensis from anywhere outside Argentina, and as such, significantly extends the species’ known range.

Read more about this enigmatic Xylaria and check out an extensive key to the genus for northern Argentina in the following paper:

Hladki, A.I.; Romero, A.I. 2010. A preliminary account of Xylaria in the Tucuman province, Argentina, with a key to species from the Northern Provinces. Fungal Diversity. 42:79-96

Substrate: corticate standing dead wood (post), ~3 cm diam (same as Observation 264296)

Habitat: Northwest Andean montane forest (NT0145)

Collector(s): D. Newman & R. Vandegrift

Collection #: RLC1378

Photomicrography and molecular data forthcoming