Claviformispora X. L. Xu & C. L. Yang, in Xu, Yang, Jeewon, Wanasinghe, Liu & Xiao, MycoKeys 70 (2020)
Index Fungorum number: IF 557395, Facesoffungi number: FoF14621
Etymology – Name reflects the claviform ascospores.
Description – Saprobic on dead branches.
Sexual morph: Stromata solitary or gregarious, black, erumpent. Ascomata solitary or aggregated, immersed, subglobose, slightly raised blistering areas with a central ostiole with periphyses. Peridium outer cells merge with the host tissues, composed of pale to dark brown cells of textura angularis. Hamathecium comprising hyaline, septate paraphyses, longer than asci, wider at the base, tapering towards the apex. Asci 8-spored, cylindrical to cylindric-clavate, unitunicate, short pedicel- late, apically rounded, with a doughnut-shaped, refractive, J- apical ring. Ascospores over-lapping uniseriate or 2-seriate, clavated with a thin pedicellate, 1-celled, hyaline, without appendage and refringent bands, smooth-walled.
Asexual morph: Undetermined.
Type species – Claviformispora phyllostachydis X. L. Xu & C. L. Yang
Notes – Claviformispora resembles Neolinocarpon in having immersed ascomata and ostiole with periphyses, but differs in forming aggregated ascomata, cylindric-clavate, short pedicellate asci, clavate ascospores with thin pedicel and without septa-like bands and appendages, whereas the ascospores of Neolinocarpon and Linocarpon (Linocarpaceae) species are usually filiform with refringent bands and appendages (Hyde 1992b, 1997; Konta et al. 2017). The nature of the ascospore appendages appears to be phylogenetically significant for intergeneric delineation as has been seen in other studies (Poonyth et al. 2000; Jeewon et al; 2003, Thongkantha et al. 2003; Cai et al. 2004; Konta et al. 2017), but this warrants further investigations with more sampling and fresh collections of Neolinocarpon and Linocarpon. Differences in morphology between these genera in Linocarpaceae are summarised in Table 2.
Table 2. Morphological comparison of Linocarpon, Neolinocarpon and Claviformispora.
| Morphology | Linocarpon | Neolinocarpon | Claviformispora |
| (Type: L. pandani) | (Type: N. globosicarpum) | (Type: C. phyllostachydis) | |
| Stromata | Absent | Absent | Solitary or aggregated, comprising elliptical areas and large black areas, with slit-like openings |
| Ascomata | Solitary, superficial, subglobose, comprising black, dome-shaped, raised blistering areas, central ostiole | Solitary, deeply immersed, oval to globose, with central raised, dark, shiny papilla, central ostiole with periphyses | Solitary or aggregated, deeply immersed, subglobose, slightly raised blistering areas, central ostiole with periphyses |
| Peridium | Textura angularis | Textura angularis | Textura angularis |
| Hamathecium | Hyaline, septate paraphyses, longer than asci | Hyaline, septate paraphyses, longer than asci | Hyaline, septate paraphyses, longer than asci |
| Asci | Cylindrical, unitunicate, a small non- amyloid apical ring | Long cylindrical, pedicellate, unitunicate, an oblong to wedge-shaped, refractive, apical ring and some with a refractive circular body below | Cylindrical to cylindric-clavate, unitunicate, pedicellate, doughnut- shaped, refractive, J- apical ring |
| Ascospores | Filiform, aseptate, hyaline or pale- yellowish in mass, parallel or spiral, with appendage and refringent septum-like bands or absent | Filiform, aseptate, hyaline or pale- yellowish in mass, parallel or spiral, with apical appendages and refringent bands or absent | Clavate, thin pedicellate, aseptate, hyaline, parallel, no appendage and refringent band |
| Asexual morph | Only found in L. appendiculatum and L. elaeidis, conidiophore arising from the aerial mycelium, conidiogenous cells phialidic, smooth, translucent brown, conidia clavate to fusiform, straight or slightly curved or slightly sinuous, unicellular, smooth, colourless | Undetermined | Undetermined |
| Others | Colonies on MEA and PDA growing slowly | Colonies on MEA growing slowly. Ascospores on MEA produced appressoria-like structures at each tip of germ tube, only found in N. rachidis | Colonies on PDA grow faster |
| References | Hyde (1992b), Konta et al. (2017), Thongkantha et al. (2003) | Hyde et al. (2019), Senwanna et al. (2018), Hyde et al. (1998) | This study |
Species