Abstract During a foray to the mountain rainforests of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, a peculiar species of
Xylariaceae was found, which could not be accommodated
in any of the existing genera. It is recognised as
representative of a new genus, named Ruwenzoria, owing
to the presence of a new combination of teleomorphic and
anamorphic characters that are regarded as significant for
generic segregation within the Xylariaceae. Studies on its
secondary metabolites in stromata and cultures by high
performance liquid chromatography, coupled with diode
array and mass spectrometric detection (HPLC-DAD/MS),
and on its phylogenetic affinities based on 5.8S/ITS rDNA
sequence data, respectively, revealed a close relationship of
the new taxon to the genera Daldinia and Entonaema,
from which it differs by having neither a hollow, gelatinous
nor a conspicuously zonate stromatal interior, and an
anamorph featuring enteroblastic rather than holoblastic
conidiogenesis. A specimen from the same geographic
region, previously identified as Daldinia bakeri by R.W.G.
Dennis was found to constitute a mixture of stromata of
Ruwenzoria and an additional, undescribed Daldinia
species. The latter fungus is not formally described due to
the scantiness of the material, but its morphological
characteristics are illustrated.