Fungalpedia – Note 740, Lophiostomataceae 

 

Lophiostomataceae Sacc.

Citation when using this data: Karimi O et al. 2025 (in prep.) – Fungalpedia, Ascomycota.

Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank.

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

Nitschke (1869) introduced the family Lophiostomataceae with Lophiostoma, as the type genus. Since then, several genera have been introduced into this family (Trevisan 1877, Kohlmeyer & Kohlmeyer 1991, Crous et al. 2013, Thambugala et al. 2015, Hashimoto et al. 2018, Mapook et al. 2020, Maharachchikumbura et al. 2021, Wanasinghe et al. 2021). Currently, there are 32 accepted genera in Lophiostomataceae (Hyde et al. 2024).  Members of Lophiostomataceae are reported as saprobes on stems, bark or twigs of various woody and herbaceous plants in both terrestrial and aquatic environments (Mapook et al. 2020). The sexual morph is characterized by having superficial or semi-immersed to densely erumpent, globose to subglobose, dark-brown to black and carbonaceous ascomata, with an elongate, often slit-like ostiole, with a peridium of thin-walled and lightly pigmented cells of textura prismatica, and long, hyaline, septate, anastomosing and branched pseudoparaphyses. Their asci are 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, cylindrical to clavate, comprising 1-seriate or partially 2-seriate, hyaline to pale brown, narrowly fusiform, 3–5-septate or muriform ascospores that are slightly constricted at each septum and with acute ends. The ascospores are smooth-walled, with a distinct oil drop in each cell, and with terminal appendages (Hongsanan et al. 2020). The asexual morph is reported as coelomycetous, characterized by subglobose, semi-immersed, uni-loculate or rarely bi-loculate, reddish brown pycnidia, with conidiophores reduced to conidiogenous cells. These conidiogenous cells are cylindrical, phialidic, and hyaline, formed at the end and on the sides, producing subglobose to cylindrical, hyaline, aseptate conidia (Hongsanan et al. 2020). 

Type genus: Lophiostoma Ces. & De Not., Comm. Soc. crittog. Ital. 1(fasc. 4): 219 (1863).

 

References

Crous PW, Groenewald JZ. 2013 – A phylogenetic re-evaluation of Arthrinium. IMA Fungus 4, 133–154.

Hashimoto A, Hirayama K, Takahashi H, Matsumura M et al. 2018 – Resolving the Lophiostoma bipolare complex: generic delimitations within Lophiostomataceae. Studies in Mycology 90, 161–189.

Hongsanan S, Hyde KD, Phookamsak R, Wanasinghe DN, et al. 2020 – Refined families of Dothideomycetes: Dothideomycetidae and Pleosporomycetidae. Mycosphere 11, 1553–2107.

Hyde KD, Noorabadi MT, Thiyagaraja V, He MQ, et al. 2024 – The 2024 Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa. Mycosphere 15, 5146–6239. 

Kohlmeyer J, Volkmann-Kohlmeyer B. 1991 – Illustrated key to the filamentous higher marine fungi. Botanica Marina 34, 1–61.

Maharachchikumbura SSN, Chen Y, Ariyawansa HA, Hyde KD, et al. 2021 – Integrative approaches for species delimitation in Ascomycota. Fungal Diversity 109(1), 155–179. 

Mapook A, Hyde KD, McKenzie EHC, Jones, EBG et al. 2020 –Taxonomic and phylogenetic contributions to fungi associated with the invasive weed Chromolaena odorata (Siam weed). Fungal Diversity 101, 1–175.

Nitschke TRJ. 1869 – Grundlage eines Systems der Pyrenomyceten. Verhandlungen des Naturhistorischen Vereins der Preussischen Rheinlande, Westfalens und des Regierungsbezirks Osnabrück 26, 70–77.

Thambugala KM, Hyde KD, Tanaka K, Tian Q et al. 2015 – Towards a natural classification and backbone tree for Lophiostomataceae, Floricolaceae, and Amorosiaceae fam. nov. Fungal Diversity 74, 199–266.

Trevisan V. 1877 – Note sur la tribu des Platystomees de la famille des Hypoxylacées. Bulletin de la Société Royale de Botanique de Belgique 16, 14–20.

Wanasinghe DN, Mortimer PE, Xu JC 2021 – Insight into the systematics of microfungi colonizing dead woody twigs of Dodonaea viscosa in Honghe (China). Journal of Fungi 7, 1–42.

 

Entry by

Omid Karimi, State Key Laboratory of Discovery and Utilization of Functional Components in Traditional Chinese Medicine & School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guizhou Medical University, Guian New District, Guizhou 550004, 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 28 July 2025

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