Libertasomycetaceae Crous, in Crous & Groenewald, IMA Fungus 8(1): 146 (2017).
MycoBank number: MB 820911; Index Fungorum number: IF 820911; Facesoffungi number: FoF 08263, 6 species.
Saprobic and pathogenic fungi. Sexual morph: Ascomata immersed in a brown stroma, becoming erumpent, breaking through the host surface, aggregated in clusters, with a central ostiole. Peridium composed of 6–10 layers of brown textura angularis cells. Hamathecium comprising hyphal-like, intermingled among asci, hyaline, smooth, septate, anastomosing, cellular pseudoparaphyses. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, stipitate, hyaline, smooth, subcylindrical with ocular chamber. Ascospores fasciculate, fusoid-ellipsoidal, brown, muriformly septate, verruculose with obtuse ends, encased in a mucoid sheath. Asexual morph: Conidiomata unilocular, stromatic, separate, globose, immersed, brown, opening via a central ostiole. Peridium composed of 3–6 layers of brown textura angularis cells. Conidiophores reduced to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells lining the inner cavity, hyaline, smooth, ampulliform to doliiform, with prominent periclinal thickening at the apex, or with tightly aggregated percurrent proliferations at the apex. Conidia solitary, subcylindrical to ellipsoidal, straight to curved, golden brown, 0–1- septate, constricted at median septum, apex obtuse, base truncate, with marginal frill, and longitudinal striations, or ellipsoidal, apex obtuse, base truncate to bluntly rounded, hyaline, granular, aseptate, thin- and smooth-walled (Crous & Groenewald 2017).
Type – Libertasomyces Crous & Roets.
Notes – Crous & Groenewald (2017) introduced Libertasomycetaceae to accommodate Libertasomyces and Neoplatysporoides in order Pleosporales. Species of Libertasomycetaceae are saprobic on twigs and leaf litter (Crous et al. 2016a, b, Crous & Groenewald 2017).
Genera