Aliquandostipitaceae Inderb., in Inderbitzin et al., Am. J. Bot. 88(1): 54 (2001).
MycoBank number: MB 82130; Index Fungorum: IF 82130; Facesoffungi number: FoF 07683, 36 species.
Saprobic on submerged or trapped decorticated wood or leaves in freshwater streams, rivers, lakes, peat swamps and marine habitats. Sexual morph: Ascomata scattered or rarely in small groups, immersed to erumpent or superficial, if superficial often attached to substrate by hyphal stalks, with repent or pendant thick brown hyphal strands, globose to subglobose, hyaline, pale brown or black, coriaceous to subcarbonaceous, ostiolate, papillate. Peridium variable, 3–7 cell layers thick, comprising very large, light brown to brown, thin-walled, cells of textura globulosa to angularis. Hamathecium comprising 2–7 μm wide, hyaline, septate, sparsely branched, filamentous, cellular pseudoparaphyses, anastomosing above the asci. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, clavate to cylindrical, pedicel absent or very short, with or without an ocular chamber. Ascospores 2- to multiseriate, ellipsoid to fusiform, hyaline to pale brown to dark brown, 1-septate, guttulate, with or without various types of appendages and/or sheaths. Asexual morph: Hyphomycetous. Conidiophores reduced or un-branched or sparingly branched, hyaline. Conidiogenous cells monoblastic, thallic or sympodial or percurrent, monilioid, hyaline or brown. Conidia phragmosporous or staurosporous, with globose central cell, with 4-several, radiating septate arms, hyaline or brown, single or branched or un-branched chains (Seifert et al. 2011) or tetraradiate with 4–8 appendages.
Type: Aliquandostipite Inderb.
Notes: Aliquandostipitaceae was introduced by Inderbitzin et al. (2001) for taxa characterized by mycelium five times wider than those of most ascomycetes. Ascomata, borne either on these thick hyphae or on hyphal stalks are membranous, have a hamathecium of persistent pseudoparaphyses, bitunicate asci and hyaline to pale brown, 1-septate ascospores with or without a sheath or with appendages.
Manglicola has also been referred to the Jahnulales and as the type for Manglicolaceae by Suetrong et al. (2011). Patescospora was synonymised under Aliquandostipite (Suetrong et al. 2011). The phylogenetic analysis based on ITS and LSU sequence data showed that the genera Aliquandostipite, Ascagilis, Brachiosphaera, Jahnula, Megalohypha, Neojahnula Pseudojahnula, and Xylomyces cluster together with high support (100% ML, 1.00 PP). We follow the previous studies and accept these eight genera in Aliquandostipitaceae (Dong et al. 2020).
Key to sexual genera of Aliquandostipitaceae
3. Ascospores with a thin or broad gelatinous sheath, lacking appendages ………………………..Aliquandostipite
3. Ascospores with apical caps, appendages, or lacking such structures …………………………….3
4. Ascospores with longitudinal sulcate striations, lacking appendages or a gelatinous sheath …………Megalohypha
4. Ascospores lacking longitudinal sulcate striations, with or without apical pads ………….Jahnula
Key to asexual genera of Aliquandostipitaceae
1. Asexual morph hypha-like, filamentous, septate, conidia and conidiophores absent ………….2
1. Sexual morphs …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….3
2. Conidiophores and conidia lacking, chlamydospores intercalary, multi-septate ………………..Xylomyces
2. Conidia tetraradiate with 4–8 appendages (arms) …………………………………………………………..Brachiosphaera