Dothideomycetes » Dothideomycetes, genera incertae sedis » Auerswaldia

Auerswaldia examinans

Auerswaldia examinans (Berk.) Sacc., Syll. fung. (Abellini) 2: 626 (1883).

≡ Sphaeria examinans Berk., London J. Bot. 1(3): 156 (1842).

            Index Fungorum number: IF 165896; Facesoffungi number: FoF 12137, Fig. 1

Description:

Saprobic on dead wood. Sexual morph: Ascostromata up to 720–750 μm diam., 440–460 μm high, dark brown to black, superficial, gregarious, semi-immersed to erumpent, flattened at the upper surface, globose to subglobose, with 4 to numerous locules, with individual ostioles, cells of ascostromata comprising brown-walled cells of textura angularis. Peridium 8–30 μm of locules two-layered, outer layer composed of small heavily pigmented thick-walled cells of textura angularis, inner layer composed of hyaline thin-walled cells of textura angularis. Hamathecium 3.2–4.2 μm unbranched, aseptate cellular pseudoparaphyses. Asci 56−80 × 13−20 µm (x̄ = 64.1 × 17.6 µm, n = 20), 8–spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, clavate to cylindrical-clavate, with a short pedicel, apically rounded with an ocular chamber. Ascospores 17.2−18.4 × 9.2−10.2 µm (x̄ = 17.7 × 9.8 µm, n = 20), uni-seriate or irregularly bi-seriate, hyaline, aseptate, oblong to ovate, turning pale to dark brown on maturity. Asexual morph: Unknown.

Material examined: Venezuela, Carabobo, Urama, Hacienda, Lucinda, on Palm (Arecaceae), Chardon, Whetzel and Muller, 3 April 1939 (CUP- 003295).

Fig. 1 Auerswaldia examinans (CUP 003295). a Details of herbarium material. b Specimen. c, d Appearance of ascostromata on substrate. e Section through ascostromata. f Peridium. g Cellular pseudoparaphyses. h–l Asci. m–r Ascospores. Scale bars: c = 5000 μm, d = 2000 μm, e = 200 μm, f = 50 μm, g = 30 μm, h–l = 20 μm, m–r = 10 μm.

Importance and distribution

There are 41 Auerswaldia epithets in Index Fungorum (2022), but several species have been transferred to other genera namely Anisomyces, Anthostomella, Apodothina, Bagnisiella, Biscogniauxia, Camarotella, Coccochora, Coccodiella, Coccostromopsis, Dothidina, Dothiorella, Homostegia, Kretzschmariella, Lasiodiplodia, Melanospora, Phaeobotryon, Phaeochora, Phaeochorella, Phyllachora, Pseudothiella, Sphaerodothis, Trabutia and Trabutiella. Auerswaldia comprises three species known on Coffea liberica (Rubiaceae), culms of Gigantochloa (Poaceae), dead leaves of Pandanus (Pandanaceae) and dry branches of Manihot utilissima (Euphorbiaceae). Auerswaldia is reported from Africa (Ivory Coast) and Asia (Philippines).

 

References

Liu JK, Phookamsak R, Doilom M, Wikee S et al. 2012 – Towards a natural classification of Botryosphaeriales. Fungal Diversity 57, 149–210.

Schoch CL, Crous PW, Groenewald JZ, Boehm EWA et al. 2009a – A class-wide phylogenetic assessment of Dothideomycetes. Studies in Mycology 64, 1–15.

Slippers B, Boissin E, Phillips A, Groenewald JZ et al. 2013 – Phylogenetic lineages in the Botryosphaeriales: A systematic and evolutionary framework. Studies in mycology 76, 31–49.

von Arx JA, Müller E. 1975 – A re-evaluation of the bitunicate Ascomycetes with keys to families and genera. Studies in Mycology 9, 1–159

 

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