Hypocreaceae De Not., G. bot. ital. 2(1): 48 (1844)
MycoBank number: MB 80892; Index Fungorum number: IF 80892; Facesoffungi number: FoF 01904; 606 species.
Biotrophic, hemibiotrophic, saprobic or hypersaprobic on plants, other fungi, myxomycetes and lichens, some are mycoparasites, rarely coprophillus, occuring in terrestrial and aquatic habitats worldwide. Sexual morph: Stromatic tissue well-developed, or weakly developed and existing only as subiculum of interwoven pallid or brightly pigmented hyphae, when present soft and fleshy, pallid or brightly pigmented to light brownish, immersed erumpent, effuse, tuberculate or pulvinate, occasionally stipitate, then fertile region clavate. Ascomata solitary or often arranged in groups, perithecial or rarely cleistothecial, immersed in or erumpent to superficial on substrate, pallid, brightly pigmented, or shades of light brown or blue to violet (appearing black), rarely brown, globose, ovoid, obpyriform or spheroid, collabent at times, apex papillate, with periphysate ostiole, surface glabrous or warted or bearing hyaline or pallid hyphal appendages or rarely thick-walled setae. Peridium externally composed of pseudoparenchymatous cells, sometimes with thick, sclerotial walls, internally composed of compressed rows of cells, pallid to brightly pigmented or brown, blue or violet. Paraphyses apical (periphysoids), usually deliquescent, occasionally visible at maturity, as cellular remnants among asci or as remnants of apical fringe. Asci basal to peripheral, mostly 8-spored, occasionally polysporous or less than eight, cylindric, oblong or inflated, apical ring often lacking, when present shallow, refractive, J-. Ascospores uniseriate, biseriate or in fascicle, hyaline, yellowish, pinkish to greenish or occasionally brown, 1-celled or one to several septate, occasionally with longitudinal septa, disarticulating into part-spores at times or budding to form conidia within ascus, ellipsoid, fusoid, allantoid, elongate or globose, with smooth, verruculose or longitudinally striate cell wall. Asexual morph: Hyphomycetous or coelomycetes. Primirily phialidic. Conidiomata non-exsistent to sporodochial or synnematal, conidiogenous cells enteroblastic phialidic, thick-walled structures present at times. Conidia hyaline to bright colored, less commonly produce aleurioconidia and ampulloconidia.
Type genus – Trichoderma Pers.
Notes – Hypocreaceae is characterized by often disarticulating ascospores and perithecia that are mostly immersed in a stroma or seated on a subiculum. Hypocreaceae was recognized within Hypocreales and divided into six subfamilies by Lindau (1897). Rogerson (1970) recognized Hypocreales as the only family in Hypocreales. However, Kreisel (1969) accepted Hypocreaceae and Nectriaceae as two families in Hypocreales. Rossman et al. (1999) defined Hypocreaceae in a more restricted sense and recognized Nectriaceae, Hypocreaceae and Bionecriaceae as three separate families within the Hypocreales. Molecular analyses of Rossman et al. (2001) based on LSU data supported this family. Members of Hypocreaceae are characterized by their brightly coloured and fleshy perithecial stromata (Rogerson 1970).