Cytosporaceae Fr., Syst. orb. veg. (Lundae) 1: 118 (1825)
MycoBank number: MB 82042; Index Fungorum number: IF 82042; Facesoffungi number: FoF 06870; 305 species.
Pathogenic or saprobic on plant tissues. Sexual morph: Ascomata perithecia or globose, immersed to erumpent, solitary or 3–10 ascomata aggregated, black to brown, with long neck swollen at the tips, ostiolate. Ostiole periphysate, with ostiolar neck. Peridium comprising outer, 4– 6 layers of dark brown with cells of textura angularis and 5–7 layers of, inner, small, hyaline, thin- walled, cells of textura angularis. Paraphyses few, hyaline. Asci 8-spored, unitunicate,clavate, short-pedicellate, apex round, with or without apical ring. Ascospores uni- to biseriate, unicellular or rarely bicellular, allantoid or ellipsoid, hyaline, smooth-walled. Asexual morph: Conidiomata pyriform in section, brown to dark brown, divided into compartments by bending of peridium. Peridium brown to pale brown, comprised 4–6 layers with cells of textura angularis. Conidiophores reduced to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells arising from conidiomatal wall, phialidic, simple or branched, hyaline, cylindrical. Conidia unicellular, allantoid, hyaline, smooth-walled.
Type genus – Cytospora Ehrenb.
Notes – Cytosporaceae was introduced by Fries (1825) and placed into Diaporthales, which comprises phytopathogens and saprobes (Wehmeyer 1975, Barr 1978, Eriksson 2001, Castlebury et al. 2002). Maharachchikumbura et al. (2015, 2016b) listed 13 genera under Cytosporaceae (viz. Amphicytostroma, Chadefaudiomyces, Cryptascoma, Cytospora, Ditopellina, Durispora, Harpostroma, Hypospilina, Kapooria, Leptosillia, Maculatipalma, Pachytrype and Paravalsa). Senanayake et al. (2017a) excluded seven genera and accepted five genera in Cytosporaceae (viz. Cytospora, Pachytrype, Paravalsa, Waydora, Xenotypa) based on morphological characteristics. Wijayawardene et al. (2018a) accepted six genera in Cytosporaceae in the outline of Ascomycota (Cytospora, Hypophloeda, Pachytrype, Paravalsa, Waydora, Xenotypa). Senanayake et al. (2018) re-examined and added two genera (viz. Cryptascoma, Hypophloeda) to Cytosporaceae based on morphology. We place Hypophloeda in Diaporthales genera incertae sedis as it is atypical of Cytosporaceae.