Fungalpedia – Note 2702, Trichonectria
Trichonectria Kirschst.
Citation when using this data: Meng QF et al. – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1.
Classification: Bionectriaceae, Hypocreales, Hypocreomycetidae, Sordariomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi
Trichonectria was established by Kirschstein (1906) to include the type species Trichonectria aculeata. However, as the original type specimen of T. aculeata was apparently lost. Hences, Hawksworth (1978) neotypified the genus based on T. hirta, which had been transferred from Nectria hirta A. Bloxam. This neotypification confirmed the synonymy between T. aculeata and T. hirta.
The genus is characterized by its superficial, non-stromatic ascomata, which are scattered and vary in color from light yellowish and orange to brownish. The asci are unitunicate, clavate to subcylindrical, and the ascospores are hyaline with smooth walls. In the type species, ascospores range from uniseptate and ellipsoidal to multiseptate and elongate-cylindrical (Currey 1863, Hawksworth 1978, Etayo 2017). Samuels (1988) distinguished Trichonectria from Nectriopsis by the presence of thick-walled hairs or setae on the ascomata and the production of phragmospores (multiseptate spores). He emphasized the diagnostic value of the ascomatal hairs and the Cephalosporiopsis-type anamorphs, describing several species with uniseptate spores.
Since its establishment, seven species of Trichonectria have been found to occur on mosses, fungi, or other plants. There are 24 species recognized within the genus, 16 of which are lichenicolous. Although sequences from nine species are available in GenBank, no phylogenetic analysis has been conducted to clarify its systematic position. Consequently, Trichonectria remains assigned to Bionectriaceae.
Type species: Trichonectria hirta (A. Bolxam) Petch.
= Nectria hirta A. Bloxam.
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Trichonectria.
Figure 1 – Trichonectria hirta (= Nectria hirta) redrawn from Currey (1863) and Hawksworth (1978). a Sterile setae from the outer perithecial wall. b Ascospores. Scale bars: a, b = 20 μm.
References
Currey F 1863 – Notes on British Fungi. in,The Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. London, 29. Part II, 151–160.
Etayo J 2017 – Hongos liquenícolas de Ecuador. Opera Lilloana, 50, 1–535.
Hawksworth DL. 1978 – Notes on British lichenicolous fungi. II. Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 36, 181–197.
Samuels G. 1988 – Fungicolous, lichenicolous, and myxomyceticolous species of Hypocreopsis, Nectriopsis, Nectria, Peristomialis, and Trichonectria. Mem New York Bot Gard 48, 1–78.
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 July 2026