Fungalpedia – Note 2590, Stigmidium

 

Stigmidium Trevis. 

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

Index Fungorum, facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1

Classification: Mycosphaerellaceae, Mycosphaerellales, Dothideomycetidae, Dothideomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi

= Mycophycias Kohlm. & Volkm.-Kohlm.

The lichenicolous genus Stigmidium was established by Trevisan (1860) and is characterized by the completely black, carbonaceous apothecia parasitizing the thallus of other lichens, initially closed, later pierced at the apex with an indehiscent pore-like ostiole. Its hymenium is conglobated, nucleiform and gelatinous. The asci are subclavate, eight-spored, and mixed with paraphyses imperfectly flocculent-mucilaginous. The ascospores are ellipsoidal to subcymbiform, bilocular, colorless with transparent episporium. The species Stigmidium schaereri, which was originally identified as Sphaeria schaereri A. Massal., was transferred to this genus and designated as type species by Trevisan (1860) 

Stigmidium was placed in Mycosphaerellaceae (Capnodiales) by Lumbsch et al. (2007). However, Diederich et al. (2018a) placed this genus within Verrucariales genera incertae sedis in the lichenicolous checklist. Wijayawardene et al. (2022) and Hyde et al. (2024) placed this genus within Mycosphaerellaceae, and include in the list of dubious genera because of the lacking of phylogenetic placement.

To date, this genus has 109 species including 104 lichenicolous species and 5 lichenized species. There are two sequences in GenBank but the phylogenetic analysis is unavailable.

Type species: Stigmidium schaereri (A. Massal.) Trevis.

= Sphaeria schaereri A. Massal. 

Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Stigmidium

Figure 1 – Stigmidium schaereri redrawn from Roux et al. (1994b). a Vegetative hypha. b Pseudoparaphyses. c Asci. d Ascospores. Scale bars: b–d = 10 μm.

 

References

Diederich P, Lawrey JD, Ertz D. 2018a – The 2018 classification and checklist of lichenicolous fungi, with 2000 non-lichenized, obligately lichenicolous taxa. The Bryologist 121 (3), 340–425.

Lumbsch HT, Huhndorf SM. 2007 – Outline of Ascomycota—2007. Myconet 13, 1–58.

Trevisan VBA 1860 – Conspectus verrucarinarum: prospetto dei generi e delle specie dei licheni verrucarini. Roberti, 1–20.

Wijayawardene NN, Hyde KD, Dai D-Q, Sanchez-Garcia M et al. 2022 – Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa – 2021. Mycosphere 13 (1), 53–453.

Hyde KD, Noorabadi M, Thiyagaraja V, He M et al. 2024 – The 2024 Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa. mycosphere 15, 5146–6239.

 

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 11 June 2026

 

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