Summary:
Features include tiny, black, shiny, circular or undulate fruitbodies in a stem of pine; stem lacking or rudimentary; the release of a dark pigment when mounted in KOH; and microscopic characters including 1-3-septate, fusoid-elliptic spores.

Chemical Reactions:
ionomidotic [releasing a dark pigment into aqueous KOH solution]

Microscopic:
spores 10-18 x 3 microns, fusoid-elliptic, straight or slightly curved, colorless, 1-3-septate; asci 8-spored, 85-105 x 8-10 microns, clavate, long-stemmed, apex thickened, pore not staining in iodine; paraphyses filiform [thread-like], branching, slightly swollen at tips and forming a dark epithecium; excipulum composed of radiating hyphae, hyphae 2-4 microns wide, dark green, gelatinized, irregular; ascoconidia rarely produced in the ascus, but abundantly on agar, 4 x 2 microns, ovoid, continuous, colorless

Notes:
Claussenomyces pini was described from BC with a voucher at the Pacific Forestry Centre.