Fungalpedia – Note 840, Scortechinia
Scortechinia. Sacc.
Citation when using this data: Huang SK et al. 2021 – Fungalpedia, Ascomycota.
Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank., Fig 1
Classification: Scortechiniaceae, Coronophorales, Hypocreomycetidae, Sordariomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi
Saprobic on wood. Sexual morph: Subiculum composed of numerous, brown to dark brown, branched, septate hyphae, with dichotomously branched, spinous ends. Ascomata densely gregarious, superficial, sitting in a subiculum, carbonaceous, black, with metallic iridescence, turbinate, globose to subglobose, the apex collapsing when dry, glabrous, lacking ostioles, with a central, conical Quellkörper. Peridium composed of membranaceous, brown to hyaline cells of textura angularis to textura prismatica, Munk pores present. Paraphyses absent. Asci 8-spored, arising from a hyaline placenta-like tissue, radially extending into the locule around the Quellkörper from the base, unitunicate, clavate, pedicellate, apex rounded, without apical ring, evanescent. Ascospores bi-seriate to overlapping, hyaline to brown, ellipsoidal to oval, straight or curved, aseptate, smooth-walled, guttulate. Asexual morph: Undetermined (adapted from Subramanian & Sekar 1990).
Notes – Scortechinia was introduced by Saccardo & Berlese (1885) for S. culcitella. This genus subsequently was considered as a synonym of Nitschkia based on similar morphology (Nannfeldt & Santesson 1975). However, S. acanthostroma, S. conferta and S. diminuspora were sequenced by Huhndorf et al. (2004b) and Mugambi & Huhndorf (2010). These strains are sister to Tympanopsis in Scortechiniaceae. Subramanian & Sekar (1990) combined Tympanopsis confertula as Scortechinia conferta based on their similar characteristics, which is also confirmed by molecular analysis.
Type species: Scortechinia culcitella (Berk. & Ravenel) Speg., Anal. Soc. cient. argent. 26(1): 29 (1888).
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Scortechinia.
Figure 24 – Scortechinia culcitella: a–h, j–m (PC-MNHN-PC-PC0121050); i (redrawn from Subramanian & Sekar 1990). a Material. b–d Gregarious ascomata sitting in a subiculum.
e Sectional view of Ascomata. f–h Hyphae of subiculum. i Asci. j–m Ascospores; Coronophorella chaetomioides: n–o (redrawn from Subramanian & Sekar 1990). n Sectional view of Ascoma. o Ascus. Scale bars: b–e = 200 µm, f, n = 100 µm, g–h = 50 µm, o = 20 µm, i = 10 µm, j–m = 5 µm.
References
Saccardo PA, Berlese AN. 1885 – Miscellania mycologica. Series II. Atti dell´Istituto Veneto Scienze 3, 711–742.
Subramanian CV, Sekar G. 1990 – Coronophorales from India-a monograph. Kavaka 18, 19–90.
Entry by
Shi-Ke Huang, State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China, The Engineering Research Center of Southwest Bio-Pharmaceutical Resources, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, Guizhou Province, 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, The Mushroom Research Centre, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
Published online 9 September 2025