Achrochaeta Réblová & Hern.-Restr.
MycoBank number: MB 835573; Index Fungorum number: IF 835573; Facesoffungi number: FoF14541;
Typification – Achrochaeta talbotii (S. Hughes, W.B. Kendr. & Shoemaker) Réblová & Hern.-Restr.
Etymology – áchroios (Greek) meaning pale, referring to hyaline conidia; chaeta (Greek) meaning hair, bristle, referring to the conidiophore appearance.
Description – Colonies effuse, hairy, gray to black on the natural substrate, composed of conidiophores and ascomata. Sexual morph Ascomata perithecial, nonstromatic, superficial, subglobose, papillate, dark brown to black, glossy, glabrous or clothed with conidiophores of the anamorph. Ostiole periphysate. Ascomatal wall fragile, carbonaceous, two-layered. Paraphyses hyaline, septate, persistent, longer than the asci. Asci unitunicate, 8-spored, cylindrical to cylindrical-fusiform, short-stipitate, ascal apex with a nonamyloid apical annulus. Ascospores ellipsoidal to ellipsoidal-fusiform, straight or inequilateral, transversely septate, hyaline, 2-seriate or obliquely 1-seriate within the ascus. Asexual morph Conidiophores macronematous, mononematous, unbranched, upright, straight or flexuous, cylindrical, brown. Conidiogenous cells phialidic, terminal, integrated, with an apical opening or several lateral openings formed by successive sympodial elongation. Collarettes narrowly funnel-shaped, hyaline. Conidia cylindrical- clavate, somewhat straight or slightly curved, nonseptate, nonsetulate, hyaline, smooth, accumulating in slimy, colorless droplets on the conidiogenous cells.
Habitat and distribution – Saprobes on decaying wood and bark, known only from the Southern Hemisphere (Hughes and Kendrick 1968; this study).
Notes – Although the teleomorph of Achrochaeta is indistinguishable from those of Dictyochaeta and both genera share similar anamorphic characteristics, Achrochaeta can be distinguished by the absence of setae, cylindrical-clavate conidia more gradually tapering toward the basal end, and narrowly funnel-shaped collarettes that do not become apically incurved.
Species