Monoblastia Riddle, Mycologia 15: 70 (1923).
MycoBank number: MB 3251; Index Fungorum number: IF 3251; Facesoffungi number: FoF 08070; 12 morphologically defined species (Lücking et al. 2017; Harada 2018), molecular data thus far unavailable.
Lichenized on bark or rarely on limestone, in terrestrial, chiefly lowland to montane tropical to subtropical habitats, with few species extending into temperate regions. Thallus usually ecorticate, white. Photobiont Trentepohlia. Ascomata scattered or rarely clustered, erumpent to sessile, mostly black, carbonaceous, ostiolate, ostiole round. Involucrellum present or reduced, carbonized. Excipulum dense, consisting of compressed hyphae, appearing prosoplecten- chymatous in thin, bleached sections, hyaline to brown or brown-black. Hamathecium comprising 0.5–0.7 µm wide paraphyses, hyaline, straight, branched and anastomosing. Asci (2–)8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, cylindrical, short pedicellate, with broad, non-amyloid ocular chamber and fluorescent cap-structures. Ascospores mostly uni-seriate, ellipsoid-oval, hyaline, aseptate, ornamented with warts, short ridges or spines. Pycnidia rare. Conidia acrogenous, microconidia, aseptate, oblong to ellipsoid to fusiform, small, hyaline.
Chemistry: Secondary substances absent.
Type species: Monoblastia palmicola Riddle, Mycologia 15: 70 (1923).
Notes: See Lücking et al. in Hyde et al. (2013) for discussion and illustrations.
Species
Monoblastia palmicola