Stephanotheca
Stephanotheca Syd. & P. Syd., Philipp. J. Sci., C, Bot. 9(2): 178 (1914).
Index Fungorum number: IF 5213; Facesoffungi number: FoF 12490, 1 morphological species (Species Fungorum 2022), no molecular data available.
Foliar epiphytes on plants. Sexual morph: Ascomata superficial, globose to subglobose, base flattened, black. Upper wall of thick-walled cells, forming a textura porrecta. Hamathecium lacking pseudoparaphyses. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, broadly subglobose to obovoid, arranged around outer layer of ascomata within a palisade layer, short pedicellate, apically rounded, without a distinct ocular chamber and ring structures. Ascospores multi-seriate, irregularly arranged, broadly clavate to ellipsoid, ends rounded, hyaline, 3-septate, without distinct gelatinous sheath. Asexual morph: Unknown (adapted from Jayawardena et al. 2014).
Type species: Stephanotheca micromera Syd. & P. Syd.
Notes: Stephanotheca is characterised by superficial, globose to subglobose ascomata, broadly subglobose to obovoid asci and broadly clavate to ellipsoid, hyaline, 3-septate ascospores with rounded ends. Sydow and Sydow (1914) placed Stephanotheca in Hemisphaeriaceae and later transferred it to Microthyriaceae based on the presence of thyriothecia. Lumbsch and Huhndorf (2007, 2010) referred Stephanatheca to Elsinoaceae. Hyde et al. (2013) suggested its placement in Asterinaceae. Jayawardena et al. (2014) re-examined the holotype of S. micromera (S, F6581!) and retained it in Asterinaceae even though it is atypical based on the asci arranged in one layer in the thyriothecia with a poorly developed base. Jayawardena et al. (2014) pointed out that Stephanothecaceae may need resurrecting in the future. Wijayawardene et al. (2017, 2020) referred Stephanatheca to Dothideomycetes genera incertae sedis. Molecular data is lacking. Fresh collections with DNA sequence data are needed to confirm the systematic position of Stephanatheca.
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