Fungalpedia – Note 3248, Pseudocapsulospora
Pseudocapsulospora S.N. Zhang, E.B.G. Jones & K.D. Hyde.
Citation when using this data: Zhang SN et al. 2024 – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1.
Classification: Pseudocapsulosporaceae, Amphisphaeriales, Xylariomycetidae, Sordariomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi.
Etymology: Name refers to the similarity to the genus “Capsulospora”.
Saprobic on the leaves, rachides of palms, distributed in terrestrial and mangrove habitats. Sexual morph Ascomata immersed to erumpent, solitary to gregarious, visible as slightly raised, black domes or dots with a small papilla on host surface; in section subglobose, coriaceous, clypeate and ostiolate. Peridium thin, composed of pale brown cells of textura angularis. Paraphyses hypha-like, septate, tapering at the apex, numerous and embedded in a gelatinous matrix. Asci 8-spored, broad cylindrical to obclavate, subsessile to sessile, and somewhat tapered, apically subobtuse, with an inconspicuous, inamyloid apparatus. Ascospores overlapping use uni- or biseriate, ellipsoidal-obovoid or ellipsoidal-fusiform, hyaline, aseptate, usually surrounded by a mucilaginous sheath, smooth-walled. Asexual morph Undetermined.
Notes: Pseudocapsulospora is characterized by immersed to erumpent ascomata, visible as black domes or dots with a minute papilla on host surface, clypeate, thin peridium, broad cylindrical to obclavate asci with an inconspicuous apparatus, and ellipsoidal-obovoid or ellipsoidal-fusiform, hyaline, aseptate ascospores, usually surrounded by a mucilaginous sheath. Its ascomata and ascospore morphology resembles the genus Capsulospora (Hyde 1996b; Fröhlich and Hyde 2000; Taylor and Hyde 2003). However, the latter differs in having narrowly cylindrical or cylinidric-clavate asci, with a J+, discoid, subapical ring. Phylogenetically, Pseudocapsulospora falls into Chaetosphaeriales and formed an independent lineage that cannot be assigned to any other family. Therefore, the new family is introduced to accommodate Pseudocapsulospora within Chaetosphaeriales. In addition, Physalospora vaccinii (CBS 143.22, from type material) was detected based on the LSU Blast of our collection, and also groups in Chaetosphaeriales, close to Leptosporella and Pseudocapsulospora. However, Physalospora Niessl (type species, Physalospora alpestris Niessl) was considered to belong to Hyponectriaceae in Xylariales; see Hyde et al. (2020c) for further discussion. In the present study, two new species, Pseudocapsulospora phoenicis and P. rhapidis are introduced.
Type species: Pseudocapsulospora phoenicis S.N. Zhang, E.B.G. Jones & K.D. Hyde.
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Pseudocapsulospora.
Figure 1 – Pseudocapsulospora phoenicis (SNT138, holotype) a, b Ascomata on substrate. c Vertical section of an ascoma. d Ostiole filled with periphyses. e Asci and paraphyses. f Peridium. g–j Ascospores. k Germinating ascospore. l Colonies on MEA. Scale bars: a = 1 mm; b = 200 μm; c = 50 μm; d–f = 20 μm; g–k = 10 μm.
References
Fröhlich J, Hyde KD. 2000 – Palm microfungi. Fungal Diversity Research Series 3, Hong Kong
Hyde KD. 1996b – Fungi from palms. XXVII. Capsulospora gen. nov., with three new species. Sydowia 48:111–121.
Taylor JE, Hyde KD. 2003 – Microfungi of tropical and temperate palms. Fungal diversity press, Hong Kong
Entry by
Sheng-Nan Zhang, School of Life Science and Technology, Center for Informational Biology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, P.R. China., Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand., Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand.
Published online 18 September 2026