Dothidotthiaceae Crous & A.J.L. Phillips, Persoonia 21: 35 (2008).

MycoBank number: MB 511706; Index Fungorum number: IF 511706; Facesoffungi number: FoF 06309, 59 species.

Saprobic, endophytic, pathogenic on leaves, wood and branches in terrestrial habitats. Sexual morph: Ascomata solitary, clustered or somewhat gregarious, immersed to erumpent, globose to subglobose, dark brown to black, ostiolate. Ostiole apex somewhat papillate to depressed, coriaceous. Peridium composed of layers of dark brown to black cells of textura angularis, with basal region giving rise to dark brown, thick-walled hyphae, that extend from base of the ascoma into the substrate. Hamathecium comprising hyaline, broad, septate, branched, cellular or trabeculate pseudoparaphyses, embedded in a gelatinous matrix. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, clavate, straight to curved, with a pedicel, rounded at apex with an ocular chamber. Ascospores 3-seriate or obliquely 1-seriate, partially overlapping, fusiform to ellipsoidal, pale to medium brown, 1-septate, slightly constricted at septum, rounded at ends, smooth-walled, thin- walled, with or without a gelatinous sheath. Asexual morph: Colonies punctiform, brown to black. Conidiomata immersed, erumpent or nearly superficial, brown to dark brown. Conidiophores macronematous, mononematous, packed closely together forming pulvinate sporodochia, branched or unbranched, straight or flexuous, hyaline to brown, or olivaceous brown, smooth or verrucose. Conidiogenous cells monoblastic, holoblatic, polyblastic, enteroblastic, annelledic, integrated, terminal, or intercalary, or conidiophores reduced to conidiogenous cells, percurrent, cylindrical to subcylindrical. Conidia clavate to obclavate, cylindrical, ellipsoid or fusiform, filiform, subhyaline to dark brown, transversely, longitudinally, euseptate, smooth or rough, verrucose or echinulate, with or without appendages around the apical cell.

TypeDothidotthia Höhn.

NotesDothidotthia was placed in Botryosphaeriaceae by Barr (1987b) based on morphological similarities. However, analyses of LSU and SSU sequence data of Dothidotthia taxa showed their distinct placement in Pleosporales and with support from morphological characteristics, Phillipps et al. (2008) therefore introduced a new family Dothidotthiaceae to accommodate Dothidotthia.