Longididymella L.W. Hou, L. Cai & Crous, gen. nov.
Index Fungorum number: MB833502; Facesoffungi number: FoF
Etymology: Name reflects the longer (= Longi, in Latin) conidia characteristic of these fungi.
Ascomata pseudothecial, globose, subglobose to pyriform, su- perficial, solitary or clustered, ostiolate, with prominent elongated neck, lacking setae; wall black, textura globulosa, multi-layered. Pseudoparaphyses absent. Asci bitunicate, cylindrical with club-shaped base, 8-spored. Ascospores hyaline, septate, ovate to obpyriform, smooth. Ascospore mass white. Conidiomata pyc- nidial, superficial or semi-immersed, also immersed in the agar or on aerial mycelium, (sub-)globose, flask-shaped or irregular, glabrous, scattered, solitary or confluent, ostiolate. Ostioles on an elongated neck. Pycnidial wall pseudoparenchymatous, 2– 5 layers, outer layers slightly pigmented. Conidiogenous cells phialidic, hyaline, smooth, variable in shape and size, globose, flask-shaped, ampulliform or doliiform, with minute periclinal thickening. Conidia ellipsoidal, elongated, allantoid, smooth- and thin-walled, 0– 1-septate, mostly guttulate, incidentally smaller, aseptate conidia present.
Type species: Longididymella vitalbae (Crous & A.R. Wood) L.W. Hou et al.
Notes: – Longididymella was proposed to accommodate two spe- cies collected from leaves of Clematis spp. Both species were originally received as Phoma clematidina. However, their sexual morphs were observed to be similar to Didymella (Woudenberg et al. 2009). By means of DNA sequence comparisons, they were described as members of Didymella (Woudenberg et al. 2009). In the present study, Didymella clematidis and Did. vital- bina formed a fully supported clade that is distant from Didymella and distinct from other known genera in family Didymellaceae. Considering that both species produced relatively long conidia, a new genus Longididymella is introduced.
Species