Fungalpedia – Note 2748, Lasiosphaeridaceae

 

Lasiosphaeridaceae. S.K. Huang, Maharachch. & K.D. Hyde.

Citation when using this data: Huang SK et al. 2021 – Fungalpedia.

Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank

Classification: Sordariales, Sordariomycetidae, Sordariomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi

Saprobic on wood. Sexual morph: Ascomata perithecial, solitary, superficial to semi-immersed, subglobose to obpyriform, black, ostiolate, tuberculate or/and surrounded by brown, septate setae or hairs. Asci 8-spored, unitunicate, cylindrical, with J- apical ring and a subapical globule. Ascospores cylindrical to geniculate or sigmoid, aseptate to multi-septate, ends rounded, hyaline to pale brown, becoming brown to dark brown, ellipsoidal to broadly fusiform at apical cell(s), sometimes with terminal, short, conical gelatinous appendage at each end. Asexual morph: Hyphomycetous, phialophora-like. Conidia oval to globose, hyaline (adapted from Tode 1791; Hilber and Hilber 1979; Miller and Huhndorf 2004a).

Notes: Lasiosphaeris is similar to Lasiosphaeria and Immersiella in having geniculate or sigmoid ascospores, but Lasiosphaeria has white furfuraceous tissue covering on the surface of the ascomata and Immersiella has immersed ascomata, whereas Lasiosphaeris has superficial, hairy ascomata (Tode 1791; Clements 1909; Miller and Huhndorf 2004a; Kruys et al. 2014). However, these three genera were subsequently found to be far apart in phylogenetic analysis (Miller and Huhndorf 2004a; Kruys et al. 2014; Marin-Felix et al. 2020; this study). Miller and Huhndorf (2004a) regarded Lasiosphaeris species as an independent clade in Lasiosphaeriaceae based on LSU sequence data. Marin-Felix et al. (2020) showed that Lasiosphaeris is sister to Zygospermella based on multi-gene analysis. In this study, Cercophora arenicola, Lasiosphaeris hirsuta and L. hispida form a clade (100%ML/1.00PP) which is nested in Sordariales as an orphan clade (72%ML). Furthermore, Cercophora arenicola is similar to Lasiosphaeris which has hairy ascomata, cylindrical to clavate asci with a subapical globule. Still, ascospores have swollen apical cells with a terminal appendage at each end (Hilber and Hilber 1979). Therefore, we accepted
C. arenicola as Lasiosphaeris arenicola (see the combination list below) and delimited the new family Lasiosphaeridaceae based on Lasiosphaeris.

Type genus: Lasiosphaeris Clem., Gen. fung. (Minneapolis): 35 (1909).

Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Lasiosphaeridaceae.

 

References

Clements FE 1909 – The genera of Fungi, pp 1–227.

Hilber O, Hilber R 1979 – Einige Anmerkungen zu der Gattung Cercophora Fuckel (Lasiosphaeriaceae). Zeitschrift Für Mykologie 45(2):209–233.

Kruys Å, Huhndorf SM, Miller AN 2014 – Coprophilous contributions to the phylogeny of Lasiosphaeriaceae and allied taxa within Sordariales (Ascomycota, Fungi). Fungal Divers 70:101–113.

Marin-Felix Y, Miller AN, Cano-Lira JF et al 2020 – Re-evaluation of the order Sordariales: Delimitation of Lasiosphaeriaceae s. str., and introduction of the new families Diplogelasinosporaceae, Naviculisporaceae, and Schizotheciaceae. Microorganisms 8(9):1430.

Miller AN, Huhndorf SM 2004a – A natural classification of Lasiosphaeria based on nuclear LSU rDNA sequences. Mycol Res 108(1):26–34. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0953756203008864.

Tode HJ 1791 – Fungi Mecklenburgenses Selecti, vol 2.

 

Entry by

Shi-Ke Huang, State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China, The Engineering Research Center of Southwest Bio-Pharmaceutical Resources, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, Guizhou Province, 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, The Mushroom Research Centre, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China

 

Published online 18 June 2026

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