Lecideopsella Höhn., Sber. Akad. Wiss. Wien, Math.-naturw. Kl., Abt. 1 118: 1229 [73 repr.] (1909).

MycoBank number: MB 2697; Index Fungorum number: IF 2697; Facesoffungi number: FoF 01936; 4 morphological species (Species Fungorum 2020), molecular data unavailable.

Type speciesLecideopsella gelatinosa Höhn., Sber. Akad. Wiss. Wien, Math.-naturw. Kl., Abt. 1 118: 1230 (1909).

NotesLecideopsella was introduced to accommodate an epifoliar fungus occurring on Paratropia sp. in Indonesia and is characterized by flattened, dark grey, plane-scutate, membranous ascomata, a delicate, light brown, membranous peridium, 8-spored, bitunicate, globose to obovoid asci and hyaline, oblong, 1-septate ascospores (von Höhnel 1909b, Phookamsak et al. 2016). Von Arx & Müller (1975) treated Lecideopsella as a synonym of Leptophyma and accommodated the genus in Schizothyriaceae. However, Leptophyma can be distinguished from Lecideopsella in forming loose paraphyses, a colorless epithelium, and being articulariella-like, while Lecideopsella has branched, reticular, cellular filaments inside plane-scutate ascomata (von Höhnel 1909b). Eriksson & Hawksworth (1987) reinstated Lecideopsella and treated the genus in Schizothyriaceae and this was followed by subsequent authors (Eriksson & Hawksworth 1987, Kirk et al. 2001, 2008, Lumbsch & Huhndorf 2010, Hyde et al. 2013, Wijayawardene et al. 2014b). Phookamsak et al. (2016) re-examined the type specimen of Lecideopsella gelatinosa from The Harvard University Herbaria (FH, 00274523). However, the specimen is in poor condition that there is no ascomata of L. gelatinosa on the host. Nevertheless, Phookamsak et al. (2016) tentatively placed Lecideopsella in Schizothyriaceae based on the protologue of von Höhnel (1909b).

Lecideopsella has been found from various flowering plants, mostly in tropical regions, such as India, Indonesia and Uganda (Farr & Rossman 2020). However, taxa in this genus lack molecular data to clarify their phylogenetic affinities and the type material of L. gelatinosa is in poor condition. Recollection, epitypification and molecular data of L. gelatinosa are needed to resolve the generic classification.

Species

  • Lecideopsella gelatinosa