Fungalpedia – Note 3168, Moorella

 

Moorella P.Rag. Rao & D. Rao, Mycopathologia et Mycologia Applicata 22 (4): 51 (1964).

Citation when using this data: Jian Ma et al. 2024 – Fungalpedia.

Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1.

Classification: Incertae sedis, Incertae sedis, Incertae sedis, Incertae sedis, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi.

Notes: Moorella was established and introduced by Rao (1964), with M. speciosa as the type species. Index Fungorum (2024) lists three epithets of Moorella. However, based on descriptions and photographs by Matsushima (1993), we excluded M. monocephala and transferred it to Helicoubisia as H. monocephala (Rao 1964; Lunghini and Rambelli 1979; Kuthubutheen and Nawawi 1994). Moorella comprises two species: M. heterospora and M. speciosa, found on dead leaves and barks of Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) in India (Rao 1964; Singh and Singh 2016). Moorella can easily be distinguished from other helicosporous genera by its globose to subglobose conidiophores, sub-spherical to ellipsoidal conidiogenous cells, and occasionally V- or Y-shaped helicoid conidia (Linder 1929; do Brasil 1964; Zhao et al. 2007; Lu et al. 2018b). Moorella is characterized by macronematous, mononematous, erect, straight to slightly flexuous, brown to dark black, septate conidiophores that produce globose to subglobose, one-celled, thick-walled, short and numerous branches form verticills along the stipe, and integrated, terminal, polyblastic, sub-spherical to ellipsoidal, denticulate conidiogenous cells, and solitary, acropleurogenous, hyaline to subhyaline, septate, coiled, sometimes V- or Y-shaped conidia (Rao and Rao 1964; Singh and Singh 2016).

Type species: Moorella speciosa P.Rag. Rao & D. Rao, Mycopathologia et Mycologia Applicata 22 (4): 52 (1964).

Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Moorella.

Figure 1 – (a) Inesiosporium longispirale (redrawn from Seifert et al. (2011)); (b) Moorella speciosa (redrawn from Seifert et al. (2011)); (c) Mycelephas robustus (redrawn from Seifert et al. (2011)).

 

References

do Brasil SB. 1964 – Anais do congresso nacional da Sociedade Botânica do Brasil. Universidade do Recife. Instituto de Micologia.

Kuthubutheen A, Nawawi A. 1994 – Henicospora longissima sp. nov., Obeliospora triappendiculata sp. nov., Paraulocladium fabisporum sp. nov. and other hyphomycetes from Malaysia. Mycological research 98(6):677–685.

Linder DH. 1929 – A monograph of the helicosporous fungi imperfecti. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 16(3):227–388.

Lu YZ, Liu JK, Hyde KD, Jeewon R et al. 2018b – A taxonomic reassessment of Tubeufiales based on multi-locus phylogeny and morphology. Fungal Diversity 92:131–344.

Lunghini D, Rambelli A. 1979 – Helicubisia e Talekpea, due nuovi generi di ifall demaziacei. Micologia Italiana 1:21–24.

Matsushima T. 1993 – Matsushima mycological memoirs no. 7. Matsushima Fungus Collection, Kobe, Japan.

Rao PR. 1964 – Some helicosporae from hyderabadD–I. Mycopathologia et mycologia applicata 22:47–54.

Singh P, Singh S. 2016 – Additions to helicoid fungi from India. Current Research in Environmental & Applied Mycology 6(4):248–255.

Zhao G, Liu X, Wu W. 2007 – Helicosporous hyphomycetes from China. Fungal Diversity 26:313–524.

 

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 11 September 2026

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