Letendraea
Letendraea Sacc., Michelia 2(6): 73 (1880).
Index Fungorum number: IF 2812; Facesoffungi number: FoF 00044, 12 morphological species (Species Fungorum 2022), 4 species with molecular data.
Saprobic in terrestrial habitats. Sexual morph: Ascomata rarely small, usually medium-sized, immersed usually under a thin clypeus, scattered to gregarious, with flattened top and rounded pore-like ostiole, coriaceous. Peridium 2-layered, outer layer composed of reddish-brown to dark brown small cells, inner layer of pale compressed cells. Hamathecium of dense, cellular pseudoparaphyses. Asci cylindrical to cylindro-clavate with short furcate pedicel. Ascospores one septate, ellipsoid to fusoid, reddish-brown to dark brown. Asexual morph: Unknown (adapted from Ariyawansa et al. 2014).
Type species: Letendraea eurotioides Sacc.
Notes: Letendraea is characterised by medium-sized, immersed ascomata, cylindrical to cylindro-clavate asci and ellipsoid to fusoid, reddish-brown to dark brown ascospores. Kodsueb et al. (2006) transferred Letendraea to Melanommataceae based on its morphological similarity to Karstenula rhodostoma. In the phylogenetic analyses of Schoch et al. (2009) and Zhang et al. (2009), L. helminthicola formed a clade within Montagnulaceae hence, Zhang et al. (2012) referred Letendraea to Montagnulaceae (now known as Didymosphaeriaceae). Ariyawansa et al. (2014) added a new species L. cordylinicola and treated Letendraea as a distinct genus in Didymosphaeriaceae based on morphology and phylogenetic evidence. Letendraea also resembles Wilmia in having similar morphological characters such as immersed to superficial, globose to subglobose ascomata with filiform pseudoparaphyses and ellipsoidal to fusoiduniseptate, olivaceous brown ascospores with a smooth wall. Ariyawansa et al. (2014) synonymized Wilmia under Letendraea giving priority to the older name and transferred it to Didymosphaeriaceae. Letendraea is morphologically and phylogenetically a distinct genus in Didymosphaeriaceae. Molecular markers available for Letendraea are ITS, LSU, SSU, BTUB, RPB2 and TEF-1.
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