Fungalpedia – Note 3105, Helicomina
Helicomina L.S. Olive, Mycologia 40 (1): 16 (1948).
Citation when using this data: Jian Ma et al. 2024 – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank.
Classification: Mycosphaerellaceae, Mycosphaerellales, Dothideomycetidae, Dothideomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi.
Notes: Helicomina was described and established by Olive (1948), with H. caperoniae as the type species based on its distinct parasitic nature, brown conidiophores, and pale brown, straight to curved, ellipsoidal to clavate, curved, helicoid conidia. Currently, Helicomina consists of 15 species. Previously, five species, namely H. caperoniae, H. cylindrata, H. microphora, H. stahlii, and H. trichophila, were transferred to Pseudocercospora within Mycosphaerellaceae (Index Fungorum 2024). However, based on the descriptions and photographs by Chupp and Linder (1937) and Seshadri (1965), we found that P. caperoniae and P. microphora do not possess the basic characteristics of the genus Pseudocercospora, which include obclavate to cylindrical conidia (Crous et al. 2013). Therefore, we excluded these two species from Pseudocercospora and transferred them to Helicomina (Chupp and Linder 1937; Seshadri 1965). Additionally, two species, H. deutziae and H. indica are currently known as Hyalohelicomina deutziae and Phaeoisariopsis indica, respectively (Subramanian 1956; Yokoyama 1959, 1974; Ellis 1976; Index Fungorum 2024). Furthermore, only three species, H. caperoniae, H. microphora, and H. poonensis, exhibit curved to coiled conidia (Olive 1948; Nair and Raghunath 1963; Seshadri 1965). To explain the presence of two different types of asexual spores in some species of Helicomina, further collections with the provision of molecular data are required.
Type species: Helicomina caperoniae L.S. Olive, Mycologia 40 (1): 17 (1948).
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Helicomina.
References
Chupp C, Linder DH. 1937 – Notes on Chinese Cercosporae. Mycologia 29(1):26–33.
Ellis M. 1976 – More dematiaceous hyphomycetes. Commonwealth Mycological Institute, Kew.
Nair KG, Raghunath T. 1963 – Helicomina poonensis sp. nov. from India. Current Science 32(8):368–369.
Olive LS. 1948 – Taxonomic notes on Louisiana fungi—I. Mycologia 40(1):6–20.
Subramanian CV. 1956 – Hyphomycetes-I. Journal of the Indian Botanical Society 35(1):53–91.
Yokoyama T. 1974 – Hyalohelicomina, a new genus of Hyphomycetes. Transactions of the Mycological Society of Japan 15(2):158–160.
Entry by
Jian Ma, School of Food and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Guizhou Institute of Technology, Guiyang 550003, P.R. 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 3 September 2026