Neokalmusia Ariyaw. & K.D. Hyde, Fungal. Divers. 68: 92 (2014).
Index Fungorum number: IF 550700; MycoBank number: MB 550700; Facesoffungi number: FoF 00050; 6 morphological species (Species Fungorum 2020), 6 species with molecular data.
Etymology: The generic epithet, neo (Lat., new), refers to the similarity to Kalmusia.
Saprobic on culms of bamboo in terrestrial habitats. Sexual state: Ascomata immersed under black clypeus-like structure composed of host epidermis and fungal mycelia, subglobose to oblong on host surface, hemispherical, with several perithecia arranged in single or double rows along the long axis of the culms. Ostiole absent or short papillate, with numerous periphyses. Peridium at side composed of several layers of polygonal, thin-walled, brown cells; at the rim composed of vertically orientated, hyaline, cells of textura angularis. Hamathecium composed of numerous, broadly cellular pseudoparaphyses, branching, anastomosing, with slime coating. Asci (4–) 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, cylindric-clavate, with a long stipe, apically rounded with well-developed ocular chamber, arising from basal ascomata. Ascospores overlapping, uniseriate or biseriate, phragmospores, fusiform, slightly curved, initially hyaline, becoming yellowish-brown to reddish-brown at maturity, 3–5-septate, thick-walled, verrucose, with a sheath. Asexual state: unknown.
Type species – Neokalmusia brevispora (Nagas. & Y. Otani) Kaz. Tanaka, Ariyaw. & K.D. Hyde, Fungal Diversity 68: 92 (2014).
≡ Phaeosphaeria arundinacea var. brevispora Nagas. & Y. Otani, Rep. Tottori Mycol. Inst. 15: 38 (1977).
Notes – Neokalmusia was established to accommodate two bambusicolous taxa, N. brevispora and N. scabrispora previously referred to Kalmusia (Zhang et al. 2009b, Ariyawansa et al. 2014d). Subsequent phylogenetic studies have shown that these two species belong to Neokalmusia in Didymosphaeriaceae (Hyde et al. 2013, Ariyawansa et al. 2014b). Neokalmusia is characterized by immersed, subglobose to oblong ascomata with several perithecia in a row, a clypeus-like structure composed of thin-walled cells and verrucose ascospores (Ariyawansa et al. 2014d). There are six Neokalmusia epithets in Species Fungorum (2020), N. arundinis, N. brevispora, N. didymospora, N kunmingensis, N. scabrispora and N. thailandica.