Fungalpedia – Note 959, Helicascus

 

Helicascus Kohlm.

Citation when using this data: Brahmanage RS et al. 2020 (in prep.) – Fungalpedia, Ascomycota.

Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1

Classification: Morosphaeriaceae, Pleosporales, Pleosporomycetidae, Dothideomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi

Helicascus was established by Kohlmeyer (1969) and is typified by H. kanaloanus Kohlm. (Kohlmeyer 1969). This genus includes 11 species (Wijayawardene et al. 2017, 2018, Zeng et al. 2018). Helicascus is characterized by immersed ascostromata comprising several locules that share a common periphysate ostiole lying under a more or less conspicuous pseudostromatic tissue or solitary to clustered unilocular ascostromata, which may be immersed to almost superficial and septate ascospores with or without a mucilaginous sheath (Kohlmeyer 1969). Helicascus species have been reported from Australia, Brunei, Chile, China, Egypt, France, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand and the USA associated with freshwater habitats (Kohlmeyer 1969, Hyde 1991, Hyde et al. 1998, Cai et al. 2002, 2003, Zhang et al. 2013, 2014, Luo et al. 2016, Preedanon et al. 2017).

Type species: Helicascus kanaloanus Kohlm., Canad. J. Bot. 47: 1471 (1969).

Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Helicascus.

 

image

 

Figure 1 – Helicascus chiangraiensis (MFLU 19–2103). a–c Ascomata on the substrate. d Cross section of ascoma. e Section of the peridium. f Pseudoparaphyses. g–i Asci. j–o Ascospores (o in Indian ink). p Verruculose ascospores. Culture grow on PDA q. upper side, r. reverse side. Scale bars: a = 1 cm, b = 1000 μm, c = 500 μm, d = 100 μm, e, h, i = 20 μm, g, j–p = 10 μm, f = 5 μm.

 

References

Cai L, Tsui CK, Zhang KQ, Hyde KD. 2002 – Aquatic fungi from Lake Fuxian, Yunnan, China. Fungal Diversity 9, 57–70.

Cai L, Zhang K, McKenzie EHC, Hyde KD. 2003 – Freshwater fungi from bamboo and wood submerged in the Liput River in the Philippines. Fungal Diversity 13, 1–12.

Hyde KD. 1991 – A new amphisphaeriaceous fungus from interdial fronds of Nypa fruticans. Transactions of the Mycological Society of Japan 32, 265–271.

 Hyde KD, Fröhlich J, Taylor JE. 1998 – Fungi from palms. XXXVI. Reflections on unitunicate ascomycetes with apiospores. Sydowia 50, 21–80.

Kohlmeyer J. 1969 – Marine fungi of Hawaii including the new genus Helicascus. Canadian Journal of Botany 9, 1469–87.

Luo ZL, Bao DF, Bhat JD, Yang J et al. 2016 – Sporoschisma from submerged wood in Yunnan, China. Mycological progress 15, 1145–1155.

Preedanon S, Klaysuban A, Suetrong S, Promchoo W. 2017 – Helicascus mangrovei sp. nov., a new intertidal mangrove fungus from Thailand. Mycoscience 58,174–80.

Wijayawardene NN, Hyde KD, Rajeshkumar KC, Hawksworth DL et al. 2017 – Notes for genera: Ascomycota. Fungal Diversity 86, 1–594.

Wijayawardene NN, Hyde KD, Lumbsch HT, Jian KL et al. 2018 – Outline of ascomycota: 2017. Fungal Diversity 88, 167–263.

Zhang Y, Fournier J, Phookamsak R, Bakhali AH, Hyde KD. 2013 – Halotthiaceae fam. nov. (Pleosporales) accommodates the new genus Phaeoseptum and several other aquatic genera. Mycologia 40, 107–110.

Zhang Y, Zhang J, Wang Z, Fournier J et al. 2014 – Neotypifcation and phylogeny of Kalmusia. Phytotaxa 176, 64–173.

Zeng XY, Jeewon R, Wen TC, Hongsanan S et al. 2018 – Simplified and efficient DNA extraction protocol for Meliolaceae specimens. Mycological Progress 17, 403–415. 

 

Entry by

Rashika S. Brahmanage, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, 57100, Thailand, Institute of Plant and Environment Protection, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100097, People’s Republic of China, School of Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, Chiang Rai, 57100, Thailand

 

Published online 29 September 2020

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