Neodevriesia saximollicula D. S. Paiva

Neodevriesia saximollicula D. S. Paiva, Fungal Systematics and Evolution 15: 66 (2024) Fig. 6 Culture characteristics. Colonies on PDA velvety, irregular in shape, convex, reached 14–16 mm diam. after 14 days at 25 ° C; grayish black center with black margin in forward view; reverse black. Colonies on Enhalus acoroides - infused PDA looked identical to those observed on PDA, with a slightly decreased radial growth, reaching 11–13 mm at 25 ° C in 14 days of incubation. Micromorphology. Hyphae 1.5–4 μm wide, heavily branched, septate, smooth, hyaline to olivaceous brown; no sporulation observed. Occasionally, thick-walled hyphal knots observed. Material examined. Sri Lanka • North Western Province, Puttalam District, Kalpitiya, Puttalam Lagoon, endophytic in healthy leaves of Enhalus acoroides, 23 August 2023, O. Rajakaruna & S. Udagedara, living culture numbers, UOCCC 251201 = UOCCC 251209. Notes. Paiva et al. (2025) introduced Neodevriesia saximollicula from stone artworks in Aveiro, Portugal. In their phylogenetic analyses (based on ITS and LSU), Neodevriesia saximollicula formed a separate, monophyletic clade within Neodevriesia s. str. In our phylogenetic analyses based on ITS, LSU, and rpb 2 sequence data (Fig. 2), new strains UOCCC 251201 = UOCCC 251209 grouped with MUM 23.48 (ex-type) and PL 127 of Neodevriesia saximollicula with high statistical support (100 % ML and 1.00 BYPP in BI analyses, respectively). Hence, we identified UOCCC 251201 and UOCCC 251209 as Neodevriesia saximollicula. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of Neodevriesia saximollicula from a marine or aquatic environment, specifically from the leaves of Enhalus acoroides. In addition, this is the first report of the genus Neodevriesia and N. saximollicula from Sri Lanka.