Acrospermum chilense is a distinctive and conspicuous coloniser of living leaves of Chusquaea quila bamboo in Chile. There is only one collection, but unsuccessful searches have been made for it in a range of apparently suitable localities. The recent eruption of the Puyehue Volcano has disrupted the only known station for this species.

Southern Chile

This fungus is known from only one station, with only one collection, made in 1995. Unsuccessful searches have been made for it at several other apparently suitable locations in southern Chile and Argentina.

The fungus has been observed on apparently healthy young stems of Chusquaea quila, towards their tips, at about 1.5–2 m above ground level. Only a small number of plants were infected, but where the fungus was present, it was frequently on more than one stem of the plant. Infected plants were sometimes surrounded by uninfected plants; occasionally two or more infected plants were adjacent. One to six (but most often three) elongated, clavate fruitbodies projected from the stem, usually within 5 mm of the base of a leaf lamina. Even close to the fruitbody the stem showed no marked lesion or discoloration.

Recent volcanic activity has disturbed the only known station of this species

MINTER, D.W., PEREDO, H.L. & WATSON, A.T. Acrospermum chilense sp.nov. from Chile and the Acrospermales ord.nov. Boletín de la Sociedad Argentina de Botánica 42 (1-2): 107-112 (2007).