Fungalpedia – Note 645, Phragmocapnias
Phragmocapnias Theiss. & Syd.
Citation when using this data: D. S. Marasinghe et al. 2023 (in prep.) – Fungalpedia, Ascomycota.
Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank.
Classification: Capnodiaceae, Capnodiales, Dothideomycetidae, Dothideomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi
Saprobic on sugary exudates from insects, dark mycelium forming a soot-like coating on the upper surface of leaves. Thallus composed of black, pelliculose, reticulately branched, dense, cylindrical, radiating, septate hyphae. Sexual morph: Ascomata scattered, globose, subglobose to broadly ellipsoidal, dark brown to brown, barely stalked, firmly attached to the basal hyphae, thick-walled, ostiolate, with setae. Peridium consisting of pale to dark brown cells of textura angularis. Asci bitunicate, hyaline, 8-spored, broadly clavate, short pedicellate. Ascospores bitunicate, cylindric-clavate, hyaline, 4-septate, constricted at the septum, smooth-walled. Asexual morph: Conidiomata conidiocarpus-like pycnidial, short-stalked, oval or ellipsoid, ostiolate, lacking a neck. Ostiole surrounded by hyaline, subulate hyphal extensions. Conidia small, ellipsoid, continuous, aseptate, hyaline, arranged in a droplet at the apex of pycnidium, smooth-walled (Chomnunti et al. 2011; Abdollahzadeh et al. 2020).
Notes: Phragmocapnias was established by Theisen and Sydow (1918) with the type species of P. betle which was earlier designated as Capnodium betle. Chomnunti et al. (2011) re-studied the holotype and epitype of P. betle and observed 8-spored asci with 4-septate, hyaline ascospores. However, the holotype of of C. betle described by Sydow et al. (1911), has 6-spored asci with 4–6-septate, hyaline to brown ascospores. Hughes (1976) mentioned that the asexual morph of Phragmocapnias as the tall conidiocarpus- like conidiomata without neck. However, the recent phylogenetic analysis based on LSU, ITS, tef1 and rpb2 showed that the type species of these two genera clustered separately reflecting two different genera (Abdollahzadeh et al. 2020). Phragmocapnias is morphologically similar to Conidiocarpus by long basal stalk, flask-shaped, dark brown to brown, ostiolate pycnidia with aseptate, hyaline, ellipsoidal conidia. However, Phragmocapnias differs from Conidiocarpus by lacking a neck and a short stalk while, the latter has a neck and long stalk.
Type species: Phragmocapnias betle (Syd. P. Syd. & E.J. Butler) Theiss. & Syd., Ann mycol. 15(6): 480 (1918) [1917].
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Phragmocapnias.
References
Chomnunti P, Schoch CL, Aguirre-Hudson B et al 2011 – Capnodiaceae. Fungal Divers 51:103–134.
Hughes SJ 1976 – Sooty moulds. Mycologia 68:693–820.
Entry by
Diana Sandamali Marasinghe, 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, Mushroom Research Foundation, 128 M.3 Ban Pa Deng T. Pa Pae, A. Mae Taeng, Chiang Mai, 50150, Thailand
Published online 29 August 2023