Fungalpedia – Note 2607, Stictographaceae

 

Stictographaceae D.Q. Dai & K.D. Hyde.

Citation when using this data: Meng QF et al. – Fungalpedia.

Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank.

Classification: Stictographaceae, Asterinales, Dothideomycetes orders incertae sedis, Ascomycota, Fungi

Stictographaceae is a lichenicolous family which was introduced by Dai et al. (2018) to accommodate several lichenicolous genera or with saprobic lifecycles. The family is characterized by lichenicolous habit, cymbiform to lirelliform, or a slit-like disc, black to dark brown ascomata, wide clavate to subglobose asci and brown, ellipsoid ascospores with a single septum (Dai et al. 2018).

The family contains seven genera, most of them have lichenicolous species, except for Neoacrodictys J.W. Xia & X.G. Zhang which has only one species growing on dead branches (Xia et al. 2022). Actinocladium was introduced by Ehrenb (1819), which included nine species, and one is lichenicolous. This genus was initially placed within Ascomycota genera incertae sedis. Yang et al. (2023) introduced a new species of Actinocladium, and placed this genus within Stictographaceae based on phylogenetic analysis using multigene (LSU, SSU, ITS, TEF1α and RPB2). Buelliella Fink has 13 species, all of which are lichenicolous.

Karschia was introduced by Körb. (1865), typified by K. talcophila (Ach.) Körb. It contains 51 species, 23 of which are lichenicolous. Labrocarpon Etayo & Pérez-Ort. Contains two species, both of which are lichenicolous. Barr (1979) placed Karschia in Patellariaceae Corda. Then it was transferred to Lichenotheliaceae, Lichenotheliales by Thambugala et al. (2014) based on the morphology observed from herbarium material. Ertz & Diederich (2015) re-examined the type specimen and sequenced the type species. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that Karschia forms a single clade close to Labrocarpon, Melaspileopsis and Stictographa. Dai et al. (2018) got the same result in the phylogenetic, leading to placement of Karschia within Stictographaceae. 

Melaspileopsis and Stictographa Mudd are two monotypic genera, their type species are lichenicolous. Melaspileopsis was introduced by Ertz & Diederich (2015) and is typified by M. diplasiospora (Nyl.) Ertz & Diederich. Stictographa was collected on the exclusive host Phaeographis dendritica Muell in western Europe. It is morphologically similar to Labrocarpon in having cymbiformis ascomata opening by a long slit. The monotypic genus Labrocarpon was introduced by Pérez-Ortega et al. (2010a) and is typified by L. canariense (D. Hawksw.). 

Type genus: Stictographa Mudd.

Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Stictographaceae.

 

References

Barr ME. 1979 – A classification of Loculoascomycetes. Mycologia 71 (5), 935–957.

Dai D-Q, Tang L-Z, Liu C, Wang H-B et al. 2018 – Studies on Parmulariaceae I. A phylogeny based on available sequence data; introducing Parmulariales ord. nov., and Hemigraphaceae, Melaspileellaceae and Stictographaceae fam. nov. Phytotaxa 369 (2), 63–79.

Ehrenberg CG. 1819 – Fungorum nova genera tria. Jahrbücher der Gewächskunde 1, 51–58.

Ertz D, Diederich P. 2015a – Dismantling Melaspileaceae: a first phylogenetic study of Buelliella, Hemigrapha, Karschia, Labrocarpon and Melaspilea. Fungal Diversity 71 (1), 141–164.

Körber GW 1865a – Parerga lichenologica. Ergänzungen zum Systema lichenum Germaniae. E. Trewendt, 5, 385–501.

Pérez-Ortega S, Etayo J. 2010a – Labrocarpon gen. nov. for Melaspilea canariensis, with the description of Buelliella protoparmeliopsis sp. nov. from South America. The Lichenologist 42 (3), 271–276.

Thambugala KM, Ariyawansa HA, Li Y-M, Boonmee S et al. 2014 – Dothideales. Fungal Diversity 68, 105–158.

Xia J-W, Mu T-C, Zhang Z-X, Li Z et al. 2022 – Neoacrodictys elegans gen. & sp. nov. from Hainan Province, China. Mycotaxon 137 (1), 63–71.

Yang J, Liu L-L, Jones EG, Hyde KD et al. 2023 – Freshwater fungi from karst landscapes in China and Thailand. Fungal Diversity 119 (1), 1–212.

 

Entry by

Meng QF, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, 57100, Thailand and School of Public Health, Zunyi Medical University, Guizhou 563000, China.

 

Published online 16 June 2026

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