New Zealand, North Island, close to Kakaho Camp site, central North Island, ca. 38°34.0224'S, 175°43.0525'E, on exudate of Prumnopitystaxifolia, 5 April 2015, Beimforde PDD 110745, holotype; New Zealand Fungarium (PDD), Landcare Research in Auckland, GenBank accession OQ308934/OQ308877.

Chaenothecopsisnodosa differs from other Chaenothecopsis species by producing capitula in a catenulate stack, consecutively on top of each other, typically covered with a white pruina.

The specific epithet refers to the appearance of catenulate groups of sphaeric capitula stacked on top of each other

Apothecia growing on the exudate of Prumnopitystaxifolia, 1.0–3.1 mm tall, growing individually and proliferating from the capitulum, often several from a single capitulum or from the stipe, eventually forming catenulate stacks of several capitula on top of each other. Stipe dark brown to black, straight to slightly curved, 100–190 μm wide, becoming crustose with age, often with a white pruina at upper stipe regions, and sometimes with an additional red pruina below. Stipe hyphae 3–8 µm wide, with walls two layered, the outer wall dark brown, 1.5–3.5 µm and with cell walls fused in most parts, the inner wall c. 0.5–1 µm, with the hyphae intertwined (textura prismatica-intricata), swelling in KOH; hyphae in inner parts yellowish to light brown, 2–5 µm wide, swelling in KOH. Capitulum black, lenticular to almost spherical or ellipsoid, 150–420 μm wide, 250–220µm high; typically a white pruina is macroscopically visible on the capitula. Excipulum hyphae light brown to hyaline in younger ascomata, brown in older ascomata, 2–6 µm wide, intertwined (textura prismatica-intricata), swelling in KOH; often covered with a crusty layer of amorphous material and crystals. Epithecium light green to moss green, appearing as a crusty layer, variously (up to 20 µm) thickened, usually with crystals, composed of hyphae extending from the excipulum; hyphae attached to the hymenium by the amorphous material. Hymenium light brown to olive green, with the hyphae swelling in KOH, full of amorphous material strongly congealing the asci and paraphyses together. Paraphyses hyaline, filiform, 1.5–2.5 μm wide (n = 20), sometimes branched, as long as or slightly longer than asci, variously covered with amorphous material, septate at 10–25 μm intervals, with the apices intertwined and agglutinated with the hyphae of the epithecium. Asci cylindrical, 60–77 × 4.9–7.7 μm (n = 8), with the apex variously thickened, penetrated by a minute canal visible only in young asci; mature asci usually without a thickening, variously covered with light green to hyaline, amorphous material, formed with croziers; asci in older capitula disintegrated. Ascospores uniseriate, obliquely to periclinally oriented in the asci, 1-septate, brown, cylindrical to slightly ellipsoid, ornamented, (6.7–) 8.5–9.2 (–10.8) × (3.1–) 3.4–3.9 (–4.6) μm (n = 60) [mean 9.5 × 3.8 μm, Q = (2.8–) 3.5–4.6 (–5.4), mean Q = 3.8]; septa as thick as spore wall.

Chaenothecopsisnodosa has to date been found only in temperate broad-leaved rainforests of New Zealand on semi-hardened exudate and exudate-soaked exposed wood and bark on the main trunk of Prumnopitystaxifolia.

Specimens PDD 110743 and PDD 110745 (Figs 8, 9) on exudate of Prumnopitystaxifolia. The specimens are deposited in the New Zealand Fungarium (PDD), Landcare Research, Auckland. The collection data and GenBank accession numbers are given in Suppl. material 1.