Fungalpedia – Note 1769, Marthamycetaceae
Marthamycetaceae Baral, Lantz, Hustad & Minter
Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank.
Classification: Marthamycetales, Leotiomycetidae, Leotiomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi
Taxa of this family are saprobic on dead plant material or rarely pathogenic (DiCosmo et al. 1983, Giordano & Gonthier 2011, Raymundo et al. 2016). They are mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical regions (Johnston 2006, Raymundo et al. 2016). Ascomata are apothecial and mainly characterised by rounded to elongated receptacles. Apothecia are semi-immersed and the epihymenium splits into irregular lobes or to a median longitudinal split. The hymenium is white, cream or blue-green-grey, rarely yellow or orange-rose and sometimes covered by a clypeus. The ectal excipulum is mostly reduced and sometimes composed of hyaline to dark brown textura angularis or oblita and the medullary excipulum is composed of cells of textura oblita. The interscal tissue is composed of both densely septate, frequently anastomosing, filiform, branched paraphyses and periphysiods. Asci are cylindrical to sub-cylindrical or clavate, mostly 8-spored and rarely multi-spored, the apex is rounded or conical, non-amyloid or rarely with an amyloid ring and arise from croziers. Ascospores are ellipsoid to cylindrical or filiform, septate, straight or curved, sometimes muriform, hyaline and sometimes covered with gelatinous sheath or gelatinous caps at each end (Hunter et al. 2016, DiCosmo et al. 1983, Johnston 2006, Raymundo et al. 2016, Jaklitsch et al. 2016). Asexual morphs are mainly unknown (Jaklitsch et al. 2016).
Notes – This family was previously classified in Rhytismatales based on its morphology (Jaklitsch et al. 2016). However, Jaklitsch et al. (2016) opined that the family does not phylogenetically relate to Rhytismataceae.
Type genus: Marthamyces Minter, Mycotaxon 87: 50 (2003).