Fungalpedia – Note 2666, Umbilithecium
Umbilithecium Etayo.
Citation when using this data: Meng QF et al. – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1.
Classification: Lecanorales genera incertae sedis, Lecanoromycetidae, Lecanoromycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi.
Umbilithecium was introduced by Etayo et al. (2008c) to accommodate U. pseudocyphellariae, which grows on Pseudocyphellaria hellii. The genus is characterized by apothecioid ascomata that are solitary or clustered, brown to black, and convex, with an excavated disc. The excipulum ranges from hyaline to brownish-orange, and the hymenium is hyaline, turning I+ blue when treated with iodine. The epihymenium is gelatinous and brown, containing simple or branched paraphyses. The asci are clavate, containing 4–8 spores, and are of the Porpidia type. The ascospores are fusiform, hyaline, and simple (Etayo et al. 2008c). The phylogenetic position of Umbilithecium remains uncertain due to the lack of available sequence data.
Type species: Umbilithecium pseudocyphellariae Etayo, on Pseudocyphellaria hellii (Etayo et al. 2008c)
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Umbilithecium.
Figure 1 – Umbilithecium pseudocyphellariae redrawn from Etayo et al. (2008c). a, b Ascomata on host. c Section of ascomata. d, e Paraphyses. f Asci. g Ascospores. h Conidia. Scale bars: a = 1mm, b = 0.5 mm, c = 100 μm, d–g = 10 μm, h = 5 μm.
References
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 2 July 2026