Fungalpedia – Note 2646, Phaeospora
Phaeospora Hepp ex Stein.
Citation when using this data: Meng QF et al. – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1.
Classification: Verrucariaceae, Verrucariales, Chaetothyriomycetidae, Eurotiomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi.
= Pharcidiella (Sacc. & D. Sacc.) Clem. & Shear, Gen. fung., Edn 2 (Minneapolis) 272 (1931)
= Pyreniococcus Wheldon & A. Wilson, J. Bot., Lond. 53(Suppl.) 69 (1915)
= Pyrenulella Fink, Lich. Fl. U.S.: 58 (1935)
= Sphaerulina subgen. Pharcidiella Sacc. & D. Sacc., Syll. Fung. (Abellini) 17: 695 (1905)
Phaeospora was originally proposed by Hepp (1867) to accommodate the species P. rimosicola, transferred from Verrucaria rimosicola Leight., however, this name was invalid. Later, Stein (1879b) validly published Phaeospora, designating Phaeospora rimosicola as the type species. Phaeospora has four recognized synonyms. Pharcidiella was elevated to genus status by Clements et al. (1931), having originally been introduced by Saccardo et al. (1905) as a subgenus of Sphaerulina. The type species, Pharcidiella endococcoidea, was transferred from Verrucaria endococcoidea Nyl. and later to Pyrenulella endococcoidea by Fink (1935). Both names are now synonyms of Phaeospora endococcoidea. Pyreniococcus was synonymized with Phaeospora after Pyreniococcus exoriens (Stirt.) Wheldon & A. Wilson reclassified as Phaeospora exoriens by Smith (1926).
Phaeospora is characterized by perithecioid ascomata, fissitunicate asci with (4–) 8 spores, periphyses (no paraphyses), and brown 3 (–7)-septate ascospores (McCarthy et al. 2020). It contains 20 species, 17 of which are lichenicolous.
Type species: Phaeospora rimosicola (Leight.) Hepp ex Stein.
= Verrucaria rimosicola Leight.
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Phaeospora.
Figure 1 – Phaeospora rimosicola redrawn from Pirogov et al. (2012) a Perithecia on the thallus of Rhizocarpon petraeum. b Asci. c Ascospores. Scale bars: a = 1 mm, b = 20 μm, c = 5 μm.
References
Clements FE, Shear CL 1931 – The Genera of Fungi. Edn 2. Wilson, New York, 1–496.
Fink B 1935 – The lichen flora of the United States. 1–426.
Hepp P 1867 – Die Flechten Europas. 16, 899–962.
McCarthy PM, Elix JA. 2020 – A new species of the lichenicolous genus Phaeospora Hepp ex Stein (Verrucariales) from Australia. Australasian Lichenology 87, 48–51.
Saccardo PA, Saccardo D. 1905 – Supplementum universale. Pars VI. Hymenomycetae-Laboulbeniomycetae. Sylloge Fungorum 17, 1–991.
Smith AL 1926 – A Monograph of the British Lichens. Edn. 2. 118, 1–447.
Stein B. 1879b – Kryptogamen-Flora von Schlesien. JU Kern’s Verlag (Max Müller), Breslau 2, 1–400.
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 30 June 2026