Ascodesmidaceae

Ascodesmidaceae. J. Schröt.

Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank

Classification: Pezizales, Pezizomycetidae, Pezizomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi

Ascodesmidaceae taxa produce highly reduced apothecia (Bezerraj and Kimbrough 1975; Van Brummelen 1981), that are saprobic and all recorded species are coprophilous (Bezerraj and Kimbrough 1975; Steffens and Jones 1983; Yao and Spooner 1996). Their excipula are almost completely lost and consist of a bundle of asci surrounded by paraphyses on a small base or of solitary asci. Asci are mostly 8-spored and ascospores are brown tuberculate, spiny, or reticulate (Bezerraj and Kimbrough 1975; Van Brummelen 1981; Yao and Spooner 1996). Asexual morphs have not been recorded (Obrist 1961; Batra 1973; Bezerraj and Kimbrough 1975; Steffens and Jones 1983; Yao and Spooner 1996; Wijayawardene et al. 2017a). Recent studies on Ascodesmidaceae include Gungo¨r et al. (2014), Doveri (2012) and Kristiansen (2011). In this paper we illustrate Ascodesmis sphaerospora as representative of the family.

Type genus: Ascodesmis Tiegh., Bull. Soc. Bot. France 23: 275 (1876)