Ericiosphaeria Réblová & Hern.-Restr., in Réblová, Nekvindová & Hernández-Restrepo, Journal of Fungi 7(6, no. 438): 14 (2021)
MycoBank number: MB 839477; Index Fungorum number: IF 839477; Facesoffungi number: FoF;
Etymology: Ericius (L) hedgehog, sphaeria (L), hedgehog-like, referring to ascomata covered with short, acute spines.
Type species: Ericiosphaeria spinosa (F.A. Fernández & Huhndorf) Réblová & Hern.-Restr.
Description: Colonies on the natural substrate composed of ascomata. Anamorph: Setae absent. Conidiophores semi-macronematous, simple, solitary. Conidiogenous cells integrated, terminal, monophialidic, ampulliform, hyaline; collarettes funnel-shaped. Conidia ellipsoidal to globose, aseptate, hyaline, accumulating in slimy fascicles (known only in culture; adapted from Fernández and Huhndorf [3]). Teleomorph: Ascomata perithecial, non-stromatic, superficial, solitary or in small groups, globose to ovoid, papillate, dark brown to nearly black, setose. Setae rigid, dark brown, opaque, simple, acute, aseptate, never conidiogenous. Ostiolar canal periphysate. Ascomatal wall fragile, carbonaceous, two-layered. Paraphyses persistent, branching, hyaline, septate, longer than asci. Asci uni- tunicate, cylindrical-clavate, with a non-amyloid apical annulus, eight-spored. Ascospores cylindrical to filiform, straight, sometimes bent to sigmoid, asymmetrical, rounded at the apical end, tapering towards the basal end, aseptate (probably transversely septate), hyaline, without mucilaginous sheath or appendages, arranged 3–4-seriately or in a fascicle within the asci.
Habitat and geographical distribution: Saprobes on decaying wood, known in the USA [3].
Note: – The genus Ericiosphaeria is introduced for fungi with minute, dark ascomata covered by short, opaque, acute setae, two-layered ascomatal wall, scolecosporous, hyaline ascospores and anamorphs with phialidic conidiogenesis. The new genus is typified with E. spinosa, previously classified in Chaetosphaeria [3]. Ericiosphaeria is remarkably similar to Paragaeumannomyces [7,20] in the characteristics of asci, ascospores and setae, which are never conidiogenous, but differs in anatomy of the ascomatal wall. Ericiosphaeria has the wall two-layered, dark brown and carbonaceous compared to Paragaeumannomyces with three-layered ascomatal wall. The outer wall is usually coloured, ranging from white, yellow-white, ginger to reddish-brown or occasionally dark brown and is composed of globose to angular cells. The middle layer, on the other hand, is the typical ’chaetosphaeriaceous‘ ascomatal wall, which is melanized and composed of brown, brick-like cells. Both genera are comparable in the anamorphic characteristics, so far observed only in culture. Paragaeumannomyces has been linked with a craspedodidymum-like and chloridium-like synanamorphs [72], while Ericiosphaeria forms a chloridium-like anamorph [3]. Both genera were resolved as closely related taxa.
Species