Camarosporidiella Wanas., Wijayaw., K.D. Hyde, Studies in Mycology 87: 216 (2017).
MycoBank number: MB 821940; Index Fungorum number: IF 821940; Facesoffungi number: FoF 03529; 23 morphological species (Species Fungorum 2020), several species with molecular data.
Etymology – Resembling the genus Camarosporium.
Saprobic or endophytic or pathogenic on leaves and wood in terrestrial habitats. Asexual morph: Conidiomata pycnidial, immersed to sub-peridermal, globose, dark brown to black, unilocular. Conidiomata wall thick-walled, dark brown, composed of cells of textura angularis, inner layer with hyaline cells. Ostiole single, circular, centrally papillate. Macroconidiogenous cells enteroblastic, annellidic, integrated, indeterminate, doliiform, lageniform or cylindrical, smooth-walled, hyaline, formed from the inner cells of the pycnidial wall. Macroconidia medium brown to dark brown, phragmosporous to muriform, variable in shape, mostly ellipsoidal, curved to straight, truncate at base, obtuse at apex, continuous or constricted at the septa. Microconidiogenous cells present or absent in cultures, when present; intermingled with macroconidiogenous cells, hyaline, integrated, enteroblastic, percurrent annellidic, ampulliform to subcylindrical. Microconidia present or absent, when present; hyaline, round to oblong or ellipsoidal, with small guttules. Sexual morph: cucurbitaria-like. Ascomata black, superficial to semi-immersed, gregarious, confluent, sometimes scattered beneath the host periderm or on decorticated wood, fully or partly erumpent, globose, black, ostiolate. Ostiole central, short. Peridium composed of blackish to dark brown cells of textura angularis, cells towards the inside lighter, composed of thin-walled cells of textura angularis. Hamathecium comprising numerous, branched septate, pseudoparaphyses. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, cylindrical, short-pedicellate. Ascospores overlapping uniseriate, muriform, mostly ellipsoidal, 3–8-transversely septate, with 2–4 vertical septa, constricted at middle septum, initially hyaline, becoming brown at maturity, slightly paler, conical and narrow at the ends, not surrounded by a mucilaginous sheath.
Type species – Camarosporidiella caraganicola (Phukhams., Bulgakov & K.D. Hyde) Phukhams., Wanas. & K.D. Hyde, Stud. Mycol. 87: 220 (2017).
≡ Camarosporium caraganicola Phukhams., Bulgakov & K.D. Hyde, in Liu et al., Fungal Diversity 72: 156 (2015).
Notes – Camarosporidiella was established by Wanasinghe et al. (2017a) with C. caraganicola as the type species. Wanasinghe et al. (2017a) accepted 20 species in this genus based on morphological and multi-gene phylogenetic indications. Hyde et al. (2018, 2019) added Camarosporidiella populina and C. mori which were collected from Russia. Species of Camarosporidiella are less-diverse and distributed throughout a broad range of environments especially in Northern Hemisphere. Camarosporidiella species are saprobes, endophytes or pathogens of a wide range of hosts (Wanasinghe et al. 2017a). Species identification based solely on morphology and plant host association is difficult since many species have overlapping characters. The genus is similar to other camarosporium-like genera and distinguishing these genera can be problematic (Wanasinghe et al. 2017a). LSU is useful for preliminary identification at the generic level. It is recommended to use a combination of ITS, LSU, SSU, and tef1 (Wanasinghe et al. 2017a).