Caespitomonium Crous
MycoBank number: MB 841776; Index Fungorum number: IF 841776; Facesoffungi number: FoF12726;
Etymology: Name refers to the tufted conidiophores and Acremonium.
Classification: — Bionectriaceae, Hypocreales, Sordariomy cetes.
Conidiophores solitary to aggregated, branching extensively, aggregating, becoming tuft-like, arising from superficial mycelium, subcylindrical, hyaline, smooth. Stipe hyaline, smooth, subcylindrical, septate. Primary and secondary branches sub- cylindrical, hyaline, smooth. Conidiogenous cells phialidic, hyaline, smooth, terminal and intercalary, subcylindrical to narrowly ampulliform, with apical taper. Conidia in long unbranched chains, aseptate, hyaline, smooth, ellipsoid.
Type species: Caespitomonium euphorbiae Crous.
Note: Caespitomonium was introduced by Crous et al. (2021) with Caespitomonium euphorbiae as the type species while Fusidium squamicola and Torula hyalinula were synonymized under Caespitomonium. Phylogenetic analyses of LSU showed that this genus clustered within Bionectriaceae and formed well-separated branches with good bootstrap support (94% ML) with Acremonium persicinum (CBS 203.73). In addition, a megablast search of actA and rpb2 showed a similarity of less than 96% with other genera in Bionectriaceae. Caespitomonium is similar to Acremonium, but differs in having extensively branched tuft-like conidiophores and the presence of only asexual morphs. The members of this genus can be found in different habitats and environments viz; stems of Euphorbia sp., on sooty moulds and aphids on Clerodendron monahassa and air in hospitals, while the life mode was not clearly mentioned (Crous et al. 2021).
Species