Fungalpedia – Note 738, Astrosphaeriellaceae
Astrosphaeriellaceae Phookamsak & K.D. Hyde
Citation when using this data: Karimi O et al. 2025 (in prep.) – Fungalpedia, Ascomycota.
Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank.
Classification: Pleosporales, Pleosporomycetidae, Dothideomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi
Astrosphaeriellaceae was introduced by Phookamsak et al. (2015) within Pleosporales to include Astrosphaeriella and Pteridiospora, based on both morphological features and combined phylogenetic analyses of LSU, SSU, and tef-1α. Since then, several additional genera have been incorporated into the family (Liu et al. 2018, Wanasinghe et al. 2018, Wijayawardene et al. 2018, Jayasiri et al. 2019, Dong et al. 2020, Konta et al. 2023). Currently, 14 genera are recognized within Astrosphaeriellaceae (Hyde et al. 2024, Zhang et al. 2024a). Members of Astrosphaeriellaceae have been reported as saprobic or parasitic on palms, bamboo, Quercus species, or robust grasses (Zhang et al. 2024a). The sexual morph is characterized by uni-loculate, solitary to gregarious, erumpent to superficial, glabrous, brittle, and carbonaceous ascomata. These structures are dark opaque, conical or mammiform, thick-walled with uneven thickness, and poorly developed at the base. They may be surrounded by ruptured, reflexed, stellate host tissue remnants at the base. The ascomata are composed of thick, opaque, and melanized cells, with palisade-like cells present at the rim of the peridium. In the hamathecium, dense, anastomosing, trabeculate pseudoparaphyses are observed. The asci are 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, cylindrical to cylindric-clavate, pedicellate, and rounded apically with an ocular chamber or a J-, subapical ring. The ascospores are subfusoid to fusiform, obclavate to ellipsoidal, or limoniform, hyaline or pale brown to reddish brown, septate, constricted at the septum, and smooth-walled. Appendages and a mucilaginous sheath may be present on the ascospores. The asexual morph is reported as coelomycetous or hyphomycetous (Hongsanan et al. 2020).
Type genus: Astrosphaeriella Syd. & P. Syd., Annls mycol. 11(3): 260 (1913).
References
Entry by
Omid Karimi, State Key Laboratory of Discovery and Utilization of Functional Components in Traditional Chinese Medicine & School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guizhou Medical University, Guian New District, Guizhou 550004, China, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand, School of Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand
Published online 28 July 2025