Fungalpedia – Note 2169, Cucurbitaria
Cucurbitaria. Gray.
Citation when using this data: Hongsanan S et al. 2020 – Fungalpedia, Ascomycota.
Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1
Classification: Cucurbitariaceae, Pleosporales, Pleosporomycetidae, Dothideomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi
Notes – Cucurbitaria was described by Gray (1821) and C. berberidis is considered the type of the genus which is usually regarded as saprotrophic or necrotrophic. Cucurbitaria is one of the oldest pyrenomycete genera with a long taxonomic debate. There are over 460 epithets listed in Index Fungorum (2020) including 34 infraspecific taxa, of which at least 340 do not belong to Cucurbitariaceae (Jaklitsch et al. 2017). To date there is DNA sequence data for only a few species, and the validity of taxonomic concepts and other species remaining uncertain. Recent studies have proven that some of these taxa do not belong to Cucurbitaria and group in other families. Jaklitsch & Voglmayr (2017) demonstrated that species such as C. obducens,
C. piceae (both producing muriform ascospores) and C. rhododendri (with phragmospores), belong to three different genera of Melanommataceae. Wanasinghe et al. (2017a) revealed that some of the cucurbitaria-like species belong to Camarosporidiellaceae, i.e. Cucurbitaria celtidis, C. elongata, and C. laburni.
Type species: Cucurbitaria berberidis (Pers.) Gray, Nat. Arr. Brit. Pl. (London) 1: 519 (1821).
≡ Sphaeria berberidis Pers., Neues Mag. Bot. 1: 83 (1794).
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Cucurbitaria.
Figure 1 – Cucurbitaria oromediterranea (MFLU 19-0718). a–c Appearance of ascomata on host substrate. d Section of ascoma. e Peridium. f Pseudoparaphyses. g–i Asci. j–m Ascospores. Scale bars: d = 100 μm, e = 50 μm, f, j–m = 10 μm, g, h = 20 μm.
References
Entry by
Sinang Hongsanan, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Plant Epigenetics, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Microbial Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, People’s Republic of China, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50002, Thailand
Published online 8 April 2026