Hello,

ciliate conidia could be from the genus Truncatella, cf. T. conorum-piceae.

Regards,
Ernestas

Hi Ernestas,
Many thanks, I have never seen these before.
I thought the cilia were germination tubes! This does like Truncatella conorum-piceae
http://www.fredis-pilzseite.de/foto-truncatella-conorum-piceae-1/
On Pinus.
Infection secondary to Sphaeropsis
http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/Taxthumb.cfm?fam=902&genus=Truncatella
Here are a couple more ciliated spores from my specimen:
Regards,
Steve

Hi Steve,

try to find Guba's Monograph of Monochaetia and Pestalotia. Maybe this helps.
In your pictures are smaller hyalinous biguttulate spores that may correspond to the asci you saw. Did you see other fruitbodies other than those black ones?

Regards
Martin

Hi Martin,
Thanks for the help.
I have had an interesting morning looking at the cone in more detail.
I found 3, possibly 4 fungi, in addition to the Truncatella.
1) Lophodermium conigenum
2) Sporonema diamandidis (I am less sure of this as I get my conidia slightly larger than in Ellis & Ellis) – 6-9 x 2-3 rather than 4-8 x 1.5-2. Also, the conidiomata were only up to 0.4 x 0.2 mm. My previous ID of this one in 2010 was done with less accurate equipment.
3) Tiny black rounded asco, up to 0.3mm. Associated with minute white fungi(?). Asci approx 60 x 7 reddening in Lugol, tips blueing I think.I suspect the free spores are from these – none or 1-septate, 10-13 x 3.3.5. Other asci are about 90 x 12 (containing 2 septate spores up to 17 x 6).
4) Minute white bodies associtaed with the previous. These are about 40-70 um, round to oval, with amorphous contents. Fungal? Or eggs of some kind.
Best wishes,
Steve

Whow Steve!
But I don't recognize a possible candidate for the biguttulate spored fungus.Please try to find it again and stain your slide with Lugol's. Your #4 are pollen of pine.
Best regards
Martin

Very dull pollen it is!  I'm afraid I have searched my poor cone and cannot find the asci and biguttulate spores together. 
I shall now leave it to incubate.
The monograph costs £20 from Amazon.
Thanks again for the help,
Steve

Hello steven
moi pour ma part, et sur la base des photos présentées, je propose Sphaeropsis sapinea (Diplodia pinea). les deux extrémités hyalines seraient des tubes germinatifs de la spore brune bicellulaire.les jeunes spores encore hyalines qu'on aperçoit à l'arrière de la photo, ne présentent pas d'appendices à leurs extrémitées. d'autres prélevements et d'autres photos détaillées des frutifications et des spores seront d'une grande utilité.

 I for my part, and on the basis of the presented photos, I propose Sphaeropsis sapinea (Diplodia pinea). Both hyalines extremities would be germinal tubes of the brown spore. young conidia still hyaline which we perceive behind the photo, do not present appendixes. Other detailed photos of frutifications and the spores will be of a big utility.

I do not think this is Sphaeropsis sapinea. That species has conidia of which only some become 1- (and occasionally more) septate; septate conidia are never as constricted at the septum as here. Also these conidia are far too small, as can be seen if one compares the scale bars of Steve's fungus with those in the illustrations here:
http://www.apsnet.org/publications/PlantDisease/BackIssues/Documents/1985Articles/PlantDisease69n10_838.PDF

Cordialement
Chris

Hi,
I have recorded Sphaeropsis sapinea several times and it does have very large spores.
In the inset in the picture the scale is in 10 um intervals.
Regards,
Steve