Graphiaceae Z.W. de Beer, Seifert & M.J. Wingf., CBS Diversity Ser. 12: 8 (2013)

MycoBank number: MB 622184; Index Fungorum number: IF 622184; Facesoffungi number: FoF 01099; 59 species.

Saprobic on plant debris, woody substrates, sometimes causing wounds on tree bark or associated with beetles, occasionally isolated from soil, manure, polluted water, also reported to cause fungaemia in an immunosuppressed child post stem-cell transplant. Sexual morph: Undetermined. Asexual morph: Hyphomycetous. Conidiomata macronematous, synnematous, determinate. Conidiophores compact, pigmented, septate, penicillately branched in two to three levels, forming metulae at the apex. Conidiogenous cells in whorls of two to six, phialidic, with annellidic extensions. Conidia produced in a transparent, slimy droplet, aseptate, cylindrical to obovoid, sometimes slightly curved with age, truncate at base, often with a distinct basal frill, hyaline. Rarely synanamorphic forming obovoid, pigmented conidia (adapted from de Beer et al. 2013b, Maharachchikumbura et al. 2016b).

Type genus – Graphium Corda

Notes – Based on the phylogenetic distance between Graphium and other families of Microascales, Graphiaceae was introduced by de Beer et al. (2013b) and accommodated in Microascales (de Beer et al. 2013b, Maharachchikumbura et al. 2015, 2016b). The family is characterized by hyaline, aseptate, cylindrical to obovoid, curved conidia. In rare cases, a synanamorph with monoblastic, obovoid, pigmented chlamydospore-like conidia are formed.

Synnematous asexual morphs of Ophiostoma were treated as Graphium (Hedgcock 1906, Upadhyay 1981, Seifert & Okada 1993). Phylogenetic studies showed that the asexual morphs of Ophiostoma clustered distantly from Graphium sensu stricto species and thus they were accommodated in Pesotum (Okada et al. 1998, 2000). However, species with annellidic conidiogenous cells and those with Microascaceae affinities were retained in Graphium (Okada et al. 1998, 2000, Jacobs et al. 2003). Graphium was referred to a separate family with nine accepted species based on the description of G. penicillioides and available DNA sequence data (de Beer et al. 2013b, Maharachchikumbura et al. 2015, 2016b). There are 14 species listed under Graphiaceae based on the molecular data with the addition of new species such as, G. jumulu, G. scolytodis, G. kuroshium (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/taxonomy; Na et al. 2018) and many more morphological species.

Hongsanan et al. (2017) list three families in the Microascales: Microascaceae, Halosphaeriaceae and Graphiaceae with a stem age of 171–241 MYA, while Hyde et al. (2017a) indicate there is grounds for the introduction of Graphidiales with a stem age of 166 MYA. However, no formal designation was made (Hyde et al. 2017a).

Genera