Ajrekarella Kamat & Kalani, Mycopath. Mycol. Appl. 24: 300 (1964)

Index Fungorum Number: IF 7082; Facesoffungi number: FoF 07101

Saprobic on the host plant in terrestrial habitat. Sexual morph: Undetermined. Asexual morph: Conidiomata brown to dark brown, pycnidial, solitary to gregarious, immersed to semi-immersed, occasionally appearing superficial, oval to subglobose, unilocular, often with convoluted locules, thick-walled, glabrous or setose, ostiolate or nonostiolate, dehiscing by an irregular break in the apical wall. Ostiole conical to triangular, single, centrally located. Conidiomatal setae, when present, pale brown to dark brown, lining the area of dehiscence, unbranched, septate at the base, thick-walled. Conidiomata wall composed of thick-walled, hyaline to brown cells of textura angularis to textura intricata. Conidiophores reduced to conidiogenous cells, or septate and irregularly branched, hyaline, arising at the base and extending up the sides or all around the cavity of the conidiomata. Conidiogenous cells hyaline, enteroblastic, annellidic, ampulliform to subcylindrical, smooth. Conidia hyaline, fusiform to broadly naviculate, or ellipsoid, straight or slightly curved, aseptate, guttulate, bearing tubular, filiform, flexuous appendages at both ends, apical appendage mostly 1, rarely 2, unbranched, arising from the top of the conidia, basal appendages 2–5, eccentric, unbranched or rarely forked.

Type species – Ajrekarella polychaetriae Kamat & Kalani, Mycopath. Mycol. appl. 24: 300 (1964)

Notes – The genus was introduced by Kamat and Kalani (1964) with A. polychaetriae as type species, described from dead twigs of Jasminum calophyllum (Oleaceae) in India. Sutton (1967a) re-described the genus and provided a detailed description and illustration. Nag Raj (1993) added the second species A. stauronemoides collected from Stipa caudata (Poaceae) in Argentina and distinguished by a lack of conidiophores. Dharkar et al. (2009) described a third species A. asetosa from Cyperus nutans (Cyperaceae), which is distinct from other species in lacking conidiomatal setae, and bearing larger conidia. The genus has no molecular data and therefore, it is placed in Ascomycota, genera incertae sedis.

Distribution – Argentina, lndia (Nag Raj 1993, this study).

Key to species of Ajrekarella
1. Conidiomatal setae absent, conidia up to 30 μm……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2
1. Conidiomatal setae present, conidia less than 30 μm……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. A. asetosa
2. Conidiophores reduced to conidiogenous cells, apical appendages 1–2, basal appendages 2–5, without lateral appendages………………………. A. stauronemoides
2. Conidiophores branched, integrated, apical and basal appendage 1, lateral appendages 1–3………………………………………………………………………. A. polychaetriae

Species