Fungalpedia – Note 2704, Lichenobarya
Lichenobarya Etayo, Diederich & Lawrey.
Citation when using this data: Meng QF et al. – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1.
Classification: Hypocreaceae, Hypocreales, Dothideomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi.
Lichenobarya was introduced by Etayo et al. (2015) based on molecular evidence to accommodate the type species Lichenobarya usneae, which parasitizes Usnea rubicunda. Initially, L. usneae was described as Neobarya usneae by Etayo (2002b), owing to its similarities with Neobarya ciliaris, including spore shape, the presence of basal hyphae in the thallus, and a KI+ blue reaction in the ascomatal wall. However, a phylogenetic analysis by Lawrey et al. (2015) using ITS and LSU sequence data revealed that N. usneae is not closely related to the type species of Neobarya within Clavicipitaceae but instead belongs to Hypocreaceae. As a result, Lichenobarya was established as a new genus within Hypocreaceae.
This genus is characterized by superficial, obpyriform, brown perithecioid ascomata that are immersed in a poorly developed, often indistinct subiculum. The asci are elongate, with a non- or only slightly thickened apex, and the ascospores are long, filiform, and multiseptated (Etayo 2002b). Lichenobarya remains a monotypic genus, with one LSU and three ITS sequences available in GenBank.
Type species: Lichenobarya usneae (Etayo) Etayo, Diederich & Lawrey (Lawrey et al. 2015).
= Neobarya usneae Etayo (Etayo 2002b).
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Lichenobarya.
Figure 1 – Lichenobarya usneae redrawn from Neobarya usneae Etayo (2002b). a Ascomata. b Cross-section of ascomata. c Hyphae of the subiculum. d Asci at different stages. e Detail of a hyphae of subiculum. f Apex of ascus. Scale bars: a, b = 100 μm, c–e = 10 μm, f = 2 μm.
References
Etayo J. 2002b – Aportación al conocimiento de los hongos liquenícolas de Colombia. Bibliotheca Lichenologica 84, 1–154.
Etayo J, Flakus A, Suija A, Kukwa M. 2015 – Macroskyttea parmotrematis gen. et sp. nov. (Helotiales, Leotiomycetes, Ascomycota), a new lichenicolous fungus from Bolivia. Phytotaxa 224 (3), 247–257.
Lawrey JD, Etayo J, Dal-Forno M, Driscoll KE et al. 2015 – Molecular data support establishment of a new genus for the lichenicolous species Neobarya usneae (Hypocreales). The Bryologist 118 (1), 83–92.
Entry by
Meng QF, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, 57100, Thailand and School of Public Health, Zunyi Medical University, Guizhou 563000, China.
Published online 16 July 2026