Fungalpedia – Note 2497, Quintaria
Quintaria Kohlm. & Volkm.-Kohlm.
Citation when using this data: Dong W et al. 2020 – Fungalpedia, Ascomycota.
Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank.
Classification: Lophiostomataceae, Pleosporales, Pleosporomycetidae, Dothideomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi
Saprobic on submerged wood in freshwater or dead tip of prop root of Rhizophora mangle in terrestrial habitats. Sexual morph: Ascomata scattered or loosely gregarious, immersed, with or without clypeus, uniloculate, subglobose to globose, conical with flattened bases or obpyriform, glabrous, dark brown to black, coriaceous or carbonaceous, with ostiolate papilla. Ostiole central or ecentric, circular, short, brown to black, periphysate. Clypeus when present composed of host cells, brown fungal hyphae and melanin particles. Peridium thin to medium, comprising several layers of brown pseudoparenchymatous angular cells mixing with host cells. Pseudoparaphyses numerous, trabeculate, hyaline, branched, anastomosing above the asci, embedded in a gelatinous matrix. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, cylindrical to clavate, with conspicuous or inconspicuous IKI negative apical structures, short pedicellate, persistent. Ascospores overlapping 2–3-seriate, ellipsoidal to cylindrical or fusiform, straight to slightly curved, hyaline, multiseptate, constricted at the septa, wall minutely verrucose or smooth, guttulate, with or without sheaths (Hyde and Goh 1999b; Cai et al. 2006a). Asexual morph: Undetermined.
Notes: Quintaria was initially described for a marine species, Q. lignatilis, which is characterized by immersed ascomata with fusoid, hyaline, multiseptate ascospores (Kohlmeyer and Volkmann-Kohlmeyer 1991). Quintaria is morphologically similar to Trematosphaeria, but can be distinguished by completely immersed ascomata with black incrustations lining the sides of the ostiolar canal, and hyaline ascospores (Kohlmeyer and Volkmann-Kohlmeyer 1991; Zhang et al. 2012b). Quintaria resembles the members of Lophiostomataceae in having cylindrical to clavate asci and fusiform, hyaline ascospores, but they are phylogenetically distant (Suetrong et al. 2009; Zhang et al. 2012b).
The placement of Quintaria is unstable. Quintaria was referred to Lophiostomataceae (Cai et al. 2006a; Jones et al. 2009), Pleosporales genera incertae sedis (Zhang et al. 2012b) and Dothideomycetes genera incertae sedis (Wijayawardene et al. 2017; Hongsanan et al. 2020a) in different papers. Two strains of Q. lignatilis, BCC 17444 and CBS 117700, clustered with Lophiostomataceae and Astrosphaeriellaceae, respectively (Zhou et al. 2013). However, two strains clustered together and close to Testudinaceae in Suetrong et al. (2009) and Zhang et al. (2012b). We found that there are over 100 nucleotide differences in LSU sequence data between BCC 17444 and CBS 117700, which indicates that they are different generic species and even probably belong to different families. The morphology of BCC 17444 and CBS 117700 are unknown, so we can not compare their morphology with the holotype specimen No. 4365a of Q. lignatilis examined by Zhang et al. (2012b). Based on the unstable relationships of Quintaria, the difference of sequences of two strains, we place Quintaria in Dothideomycetes genera incertae sedis, following Wijayawardene et al. (2017) and Hongsanan et al. (2020a), until the new collections of Q. lignatilis are obtained.
Two freshwater species Quintaria aquatica K. D. Hyde & Goh and Q. microspora Yin. Zhang et al. lack sequence data. Quintaria aquatica has larger ascospores than Q. microspora (42–52 × 11–14 μm vs. 26–31 × 5–5.5 μm) and posses a sheath (Hyde and Goh 1999b; Zhang et al. 2008a). Zhang et al. (2012b) suspected that all freshwater species are likely to be excluded from this genus and only the generic type Q. lignatilis retained, but this needs confirmation. The freshwater species Q. submersa K. D. Hyde & Goh now is placed in Neolindgomyces Jayasiri et al. as N. submersus (K.D. Hyde & Goh) Jayasiri & K.D. Hyde based on molecular data (Jayasiri et al. 2019).
Type species: Quintaria lignatilis (Kohlm.) Kohlm. & Volkm.-Kohlm.
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Quintaria.
References
Cai L, Hyde KD, Tsui CKM 2006a – Genera of freshwater fungi. Fungal diversity research series, vol 18.
Kohlmeyer J, Volkmann-Kohlmeyer B 1991 – Illustrated key to the filamentous higher marine fungi. Bot Mar 34:1–61.
Zhang Y, Crous PW, Schoch CL, Hyde KD 2012b – Pleosporales. Fungal Divers 53:1–221.
Entry by
Wei Dong, Faculty of Agriculture and Food, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand, Innovative Agriculture Research Center, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand, Institute of Plant Health, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Haizhu District, Guangzhou 510225, China
Published online 22 May 2026