Melaspileellaceae D.Q. Dai & K.D. Hyde, in Dai et al., Phytotaxa 369(2): 70 (2018).
MycoBank number: MB 554063; Index Fungorum number: IF 554063; Facesoffungi number: FoF 03911, 1 species.
Saprobic on trees and shrubs. Sexual morph: Ascostromata solitary, superficial, dark to black, coriaceous, small rounded. Peridium comprises 2 layers, black and thick-walled cells at outer layers, light brown to hyaline cells of textura angularis of inner layers. Hamathecium comprising dense, hyaline, mainly unbranched, filamentous, septate, cellular pseudoparaphyses around asci, with brownish tips. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, broadly clavate to subglobose, with a rounded apex and a short pedicel. Ascospores 2-seriate to irregularly arranged, ellipsoid, hyaline, 1-septate, with slightly larger upper cell, with slightly narrower lower cell, smooth-walled, bearing 2–3 appendages which disappear when dry. Asexual morph: Undetermined (adapted from Dai et al. 2018).
Type: Melaspileella (P. Karst.) Vain.
Notes: This family was established by Dai et al. (2018) to accommodate a single genus Melaspileella based on phylogenetic placement generated from LSU and SSU of M. proximella. The family formed a clade sister to Hemigraphaceae within Asterinales with high bootstrap support in Dai et al. (2018), while sister to Pirozynskiella laurisilvatica (FMR 13133) genus incertae sedis in Asterinales in our analyses (Fig. 5). Thus, we retain Melaspileellaceae in Asterinales.
Fig. 5 Phylogram generated from maximum likelihood analysis (RAxML) of Asterinales based on LSU sequence data. Maximum likelihood bootstrap values equal to or greater than 70%, Bayesian posterior probabilities equal to or greater than 0.90 (MLBS/PP) are given at the nodes. Isolate numbers are noted after each species name. The tree is rooted to Venturia inaequalis (ATCC 60070) and Venturia populina (CBS 256.38). Newly sequence data generated in this study are in blue. Ex-types are indicated in bold. Hyphen (-) represents sup- port values less than 70% MLBS and 0.90 PP
Types