Australiascaceae Réblová & W. Gams, Stud. Mycol. 68(1): 171 (2011)

MycoBank number: MB 515430; Index Fungorum number: IF 515430; Facesoffungi number: FoF 01110; 8 species.

Pathogenic on tubers of sweet potato and saprobic on terrestrial plant leaves, branches, and on spathes and stipes of ferns. Sexual morph: Ascomata solitary to gregarious, brown to black, conical to obpyriform, glabrous or clothed with setae. Ostioles periphysate. Setae scant, acute, thick-walled, septate, dark brown. Peridium 2-layered, fragile, textura epidermoidea to prismatica in surface view. Paraphyses septate, persistent, branching. Asci 8-spored, unitunicate, cylindrical to clavate, short-pedicellate, apex truncate, with a distinct, shallow, J-, apical ring. Ascospores overlapping biseriate, hyaline, ellipsoidal to oblong, apiculate at both ends, septate, smooth-walled. Asexual morph: Hyphomycetous. Conidiophores macronematous, pale to dark brown, septate. Conidiogenous cells monophialidic, ampulliform to cylindrical, subhyaline, with minute collarette. Conidia ellipsoid to cylindrical-ellipsoidal, smooth-walled, hyaline, septate, aggregated in slime or in chains (adapted from Maharachchikumbura et al. 2016b).

Type genusMonilochaetes Halst.

Notes – The family was established in Glomerellales based on morphological and molecular DNA data, to accommodate the holomorphic genus Australiasca with its asexual morph Monilochaetes, with Dischloridium as its synonym (Réblová et al. 2011). The relationship between Monilochaetes and Dischloridium was suggested by Rong & Gams (2000). The correct name of the taxon is Monilochaetes (Maharachchikumbura et al. 2016b) as the name is older and more commonly used, especially in the plant pathological community. Based on both phylogenetic and MCC trees, the family is well-supported and related to the families Glomerellaceae, Plectosphaerellaceae and Reticulascaceae in Glomerellales and with a stem age of 256 MYA (Réblová et al. 2011, Maharachchikumbura et al. 2016b, Hongsanan et al. 2017).