Fungalpedia – Note 1980, Sordariaceae

 

Sordariaceae. G. Winter.

Citation when using this data: Hyde KD et al. 2020 – Fungalpedia, Ascomycota.

Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank

Classification: Sordariales, Sordariomycetidae, Sordariomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi 

 

Saprobic on wood, rotting vegetation and dung in terrestrial habitats, also associated with food. Sexual morph: Ascomata perithecial or cleistothecial, brown to black, gregarious or scattered, solitary, superficial, erumpent or immersed, globose, subglobose to ovoid, carbonaceous, coriaceous or membranaceous, tuberculate or smooth, with setae or hairs, papillate or papilla indistinct or absent, ostiolate, with hyaline periphyses or periphyses absent. Peridium relatively thick, carbonaceous, coriaceous or membranaceous, comprising brown to hyaline cells of textura angularisor globulosa or prismatica. Paraphyses numerous, septate, un- or branched, filiform or cylindrical or absent.Asci8-spored, unitunicate, cylindrical to clavate, pedicellate, J-. Ascosporesuniseriate or biseriate,hyaline, yellowish, brown or black, stellate, oval or ellipsoid, 0–1-septate, concolorous or versicolorous, with or without guttules, uneven in thickness with striate to reticulate patterns or with a sheath, with or without germ pores, appendages present or absent. Asexual morph: Undetermined (adapted from Maharachchikumbura et al. 2016b).

Notes – Sordariaceae was introduced by Winter (1885b) based on brown to black ascomata and cylindrical asci with brown to black ascospores, and is typified by Sordaria. Most species in this family are coprophilous and can be heterothallic, homothallic or pseudo-homothallic (Dutta et al. 1976, Cai et al. 2006c). Species of Sordariaceae have unique ascospores and Copromyces, Effetia, Guilliermondia and Stellatospora are coprophilous taxa but without sequence data. Ascospores with glutinous sheaths or/and special ornamentations on the wall were considered to be similar characters as found in Sordariaceae and Lasiosphaeriaceae (Lundqvist 1972, Huhndorf et al. 2004b, Cai et al. 2006c). Multi-gene analysis placed Neurospora, Pseudoneurospora and Sordaria in Sordariaceae and related to Lasiosphaeriaceae (Huhndorf et al. 2004b, Cai et al. 2006b, c, Maharachchikumbura et al. 2015b, 2016b, Hyde et al. 2017a). In this entry we illustrate Guilliermondia saccoboloides Boud.

 

Type genus: Sordaria Ces. & De Not., Comm. Soc. crittog. Ital. 1(fasc. 4): 225 (1863).

Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Sordariaceae.

 

References

Cai L, Jeewon R, Hyde KD. 2006b – Molecular systematics of Zopfiella and allied genera: evidence from multi-gene sequence analyses. Mycological research 110, 359–368.

Cai L, Jeewon R, Hyde KD. 2006c – Phylogenetic investigations of Sordariaceae based on multiple gene sequences and morphology. Mycological research 110, 137–150.

Dutta S, Sheikh I, Choppala J, Aulakh G et al. 1976 – DNA homologies among homothallic, pseudo-homothallic and heterothallic species of Neurospora. Molecular and General Genetics MGG 147, 325–330.

Huhndorf SM, Miller AN, Fernandez FA. 2004b – Molecular systematics of the Sordariales: the order and the family Lasiosphaeriaceae redefined. Mycologia 96, 368–387.

Hyde KD, Maharachchikumbura SSN, Hongsanan S, Samarakoon MC et al. 2017a – The ranking of fungi: a tribute to David L. Hawksworth on his 70th birthday. Fungal Diversity 84, 1–23.

Lundqvist N. 1972 – Nordic Sordariaceae s. lat. Symbolae Botanicae Upsalliensis 20, 1–374.

Maharachchikumbura SSN, Hyde KD, Jones EBG, McKenzie EHC et al. 2016b – Families of Sordariomycetes. Fungal Diversity 79, 1–317.

Maharachchikumbura SSN, Hyde KD, Jones EBG, McKenzie EHC et al. 2015 – Towards a natural classification and backbone tree for Sordariomycetes. Fungal Diversity 72, 199–301.

Maharachchikumbura SSN, Hyde KD, Jones EBG, McKenzie EHC et al. 2016b – Families of Sordariomycetes. Fungal Diversity 79, 1–317.

Winter G. 1885b – Rabenhorst’s Kryptogamen-Flora. Pilze-Ascomyceten, Edn 2 1, 193–528.

 

Entry by

Kevin David Hyde, Institute of Plant Health, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Haizhu District, Guangzhou 510225, P.R. China, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, 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, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand, Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Science, Kunming 650201, Yunnan, P.R. China, School of Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand, World Agroforestry Centre, East and Central Asia, Kunming 650201, Yunnan, P.R. China

 

Published online 11 March 2026

Back to Glossary Index Page