Loratospora Kohlm. & Volkm.-Kohlm., Syst. Ascom. 12(1–2): 10 (1993).
MycoBank number: MB 26473; Index Fungorum number: IF 26473; Facesoffungi number: FoF 00247; 3 morphological species (Hyde et al. 2020b, this study), 3 species with molecular data.
Type species – Loratospora aestuarii Kohlm. & Volkm.-Kohlm., Syst. Ascom. 12(1–2): 10 (1993).
Notes – Kohlmeyer & Volkmann-Kohlmeyer (1993) introduced the monotypic genus Loratospora to accommodate a single species L. aestuarii occurring on Juncus roemerianus. Phookamsak et al. (2014c) examined the type specimen (on slide) and other representative specimens from North Carolina, USA and provided an updated taxonomic description of Loratospora, as well as accepted the genus in Phaeosphaeriaceae. Ariyawansa et al. (2015a) introduced the second species L. luzulae which was collected from dead stem of Luzula nivea (Juncaceae) in Italy. However, the species formed an unstable lineage closely related to Allophaeosphaeria, Dactylidina and Septoriella in subsequent studies (Wanasinghe et al. 2018c, Phookamsak et al. 2019, Hyde et al. 2020b). Hyde et al. (2020b) included a novel species, Loratospora arezzoensis based on morphological characteristics. However, the phylogenetic status of this species is not well-resolved and further studies are warranted.
Species