• Macro and habitat appear mollisioid.
• Mollisia suggested by excipulum and paraphyses.
• Of the species on wood and bark, M. ligni is reported on Tamarix and xeric habitats.
• M. ligni seems to fit, e.g. ascus rings, VBs, spores.

Habitat: On several low hanging branches of a Tamarix sp., still attached, growing from holes in the bark or decorticated parts, small and shrub-like plant, sheltered location behind sand dunes and close to a small building, West Beach, Angmering, south England, 26/11/24.

Apothecia: Gregarious to 6+-caespitose, blackish to dark grey to whitish, occasionally with a brownish tinge all over, diameter < 2 mm, initially globose-urceolate and blackish with a distinct whitish margin, then greyish, discoid and appressed, eventually more whitish and often convoluted.

Macro: Receptacle blackish with strongly pruinose or grainy appearance, sometimes more brownish at the flanks in maturity, margin distinctly whitish-translucent and remaining raised until maturity, disc initially dark grey and concave, becoming lighter and eventually whitish in patches, becoming plano-convex and eventually more convex and appressed, often developing deep wrinkles with the margin becoming strongly lobate and sometimes tearing, occasionally causing groups to appear cerebriform, apparently substipitate, sometimes associated with a black material on the substrate similar in appearance to the receptacle, especially in gaps in the bark, but this may be developing or failed apothecia.

Asci: Turgid ~55-65 x 5.8-6.5 um, croziers, rings IKI- but sometimes apex appears faintly bluish when turgid, 2-4-seriate.

Spores: Cylindrical-allantoid, slightly irregular, approximately homopolar but base often slightly more elongated, often with some tiny shadowy LBs towards each pole (not clear in photos), OCI 0-0.5.

Free living spores in water: (6.8) 7.6-9.4 (9.7) × (2.0) 2.1-2.4 µm, Q = (2.9) 3.4-4.2 (4.5), N = 30, mean = 8.5 × 2.2 µm, Q mean = 3.8.

Paraphyses: Cylindrical, apex not to gradually inflated, width ~2.75-3.5 (3.8) um, apical cell appears up to 3x longer, apex with several cylindrical to globose large VBs, yellowish en masse, apparently coalescing quickly and causing an empty space at the apex.

Medullary: Hyaline, text. porrecta, possible amyloid reaction noticed.

Ectal: Textura globosa, very dark at the surface, lighter below, brown hyphae seen in the substrate around the base.

Marginal cells: Cylindrical-clavate, brown at the flanks and hyaline at the margin, apex with a large cylindrical VB like the paraphyses, 0-2 septate.