Leptosphaeriaceae M.E. Barr, Mycotaxon 29: 503 (1987).
MycoBank number: MB 81843; Index Fungorum number: IF 81843; Facesoffungi number: FoF 01151, ca. 699 species.
Epiphytic, parasitic, saprobic, fungicolus, hemibiotropic or pathogenic on leaves and wood on living leaves of plants in terrestrial habitats Sexual morph: Ascomata immersed, erumpent to superficial, globose, subglobose or obypyriform, black to dark brown, coriaceous, partial carbonaceous ostiolate. Ostiole well-developed, broadly or narrowly conical, with a dark brown to black papilla, ostiolar canal filled with tissue of hyaline cells. Peridium composed of large, pigmented, thin-walled, scleroplectenchymatous or plectenchymatous cells, usually arranged in textura angularis. Hamathecium comprising dense, septate, long cellular pseudoparaphyses, embedded in mucilage, and branching. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, cylindrical to oblong, with a pedicel and ocular chamber. Ascospores 1-seriate and partially overlapping, fusoid, narrowly fusoid, obovoid, oblong or filiform, brown, reddish brown or yellowish brown, septate and constricted at the septa, smooth-walled, with or without guttules. Asexual morph: Coelomycetous or hyphomycetous. Conidiomata immersed to nearly superficial, depressed globose with a flattened base and cylindrical neck. Ostiole sometimes papillate or with elongated neck. Conidiomata wall scleroplectenchymatous. Conidia oblong, ellipsoidal to subcylindrical. Sclerotia sometimes produced (Boerema et al. 1994, Ariyawansa et al. 2015b). Conidiophores solitary or in small groups, hypophyllous, straight to slightly sinuous, simple, 3–6-septate, pale to chestnut- brown, smooth. Conidiogenous cells tretic, integrated, terminal to intercalary, sympodial, cylindrical, yellowish to pale brown. Conidia dry, solitary, cylindrical to subcylindrical, apex and base rounded, subhyaline to pale brown, aseptate or presenting of transversely septate, often deeply constricted at septa, eguttulate, smooth-walled, hilum thickened and darkened (Ellis 1971, Zhang et al. 2012b).
Type – Leptosphaeria Ces. & de Not.
Notes – Leptosphaeriaceae was established by Barr (1987a) as a member of Pleosporales. Ariyawansa et al. (2015b) revised the family with robust phylogenetic results. Ten genera were accepted in Ariyawansa et al. (2015b), Alloleptosphaeria, Alternariaster Simmons, Heterospora, Leptosphaeria (generic type), Neoleptosphaeria, Paraleptosphaeria, Plenodomus, Pseudoleptosphaeria, Sphaerellopsis, and Subplenodomus (Zhang et al. 2009c, Gruyter et al. 2013, Ariyawansa et al. 2015b). Quaedvlieg et al. (2013) introduced Acicuseptoria to Leptosphaeriaceae for a septoria-like species recorded on Rumex alpinus. Querciphoma Crous was considered a member of Leptosphaeriaceae based on its phylogenetic placement (Gruyter et al. 2013, Crous & Groenewald 2017). The note of Ascomycota 2017 included Camposporium Harkn. in Leptosphaeriaceae, however, sequence analyses are needed to confirm the taxonomic position of this genus (Wijayawardene et al. 2017a, Vu et al. 2019). Acicuseptoria and Querciphoma were included in the family based on phylogenetic analysis (Crous & Groenewald 2017, Wijayawardene et al. 2018). Aiello et al. (2020) synonymized Acicuseptoria under Paraleptosphaeria based on phylogenetic analyses. Currently, 14 genera are accepted in Leptosphaeriaceae. Members of this family usually have single, papillate, immersed or erumpent, perithecial ascomata, scleroplectenchymatous or plectenchymatous cell types of peridium layers, cylindrical to clavate asci with hyaline to brown, transversely septate ascospores (Hyde et al. 2013, Ariyawansa et al. 2015b). The asexual morphs are coelomycetous or hyphomycetous (Gruyter et al. 2013, Hyde et al. 2013, Crous & Groenewald 2017, Aiello et al. 2020).