Fungalpedia – Note 3028, Exochalara

 

Exochalara. W. Gams & Hol.-Jech.

Citation when using this data: Wenping Wu et al. 2023 – Fungalpedia.

Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank

Classification: Neolauriomycetaceae, Helotiales, Leotiomycetidae, Leotiomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi

Colonies effuse, hairy. Anamorph: Conidiophores upright, septate, brown, becoming gradually paler towards the tip, simple or rarely branched, often percurrently proliferating. Conidiogenous cells terminal, integrated, monophialidic; collarette short, funnel–shaped. Conidia hyaline, 1-celled or 1-septate, cohering end-to-end in basipetal chains. Chlamydospores absent. Teleomorph: Unknown.

Ecology/substrate/host: Saprobe on decaying wood and herbaceous stems.

Geographical distribution: Europe (Gams and Holubová-Jechová 1976; Réblová et al. 2011).

Description and illustration: Gams and Holubová-Jechová (1976); Réblová et al. (2011).

Notes: Exochalara is a monotypic genus and characterized by cylindrical conidiophore with a few stalk cells and a terminal phialide bearing a funnel-shaped collarette, and hyaline, aseptate and fusiform to slightly obclavate conidia in chains (Réblová et al. 2011). In the phylogenetic tree generated from the integrated LSU and ITS dataset (Fig. 3; Wenping Wu et al. 2023), two strains of Exochalara formed a strongly supported clade within the Neolauriomycetaceae. Morphologically it resembles Minichalara in cylindrical conidiophores with a septate stalk and a terminal phialide, but differs in shape of collarettes and conidia. In Exochalara, collarettes are funnel-shaped and less than 1/3 of length of conidium, and conidia are ellipsoidal with truncated ends (Réblová et al. 2011); while in Minichalara, collarettes are cylindrical and longer than length of one conidium, and they are cylindrical with truncated ends.

Type species: Exochalara longissima (Grove) W. Gams & Hol.-Jech.

Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Exochalara.

 

References

Gams W, Holubová-Jechová V 1976 – Chloridium and some other dematiaceous hyphomycetes growing on decaying wood. Stud Mycol 13:1–99.

Réblová M, Gams W, Stepanek V 2011 – The new hyphomycete genera Brachyalara and Infundichalara, the similar Exochalara and species of ‘Phialophora sect. Catenulatae’ (Leotiomycetes). Fungal Divers 46:67–86.

Wu W, Diao Y. 2023 – The chalara-like anamorphs of Leotiomycetes. Fungal Diversity, 119(1), 213–490.

 

Entry by

Wenping Wu, R&D Center, Novozymes China, No. 14 Xin Xi Lu, Shangdi Zone, Haidian District, Beijing 100085, P.R. China

 

Published online 08 September 2026

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