Palawaniaceae Mapook & K.D. Hyde, in Mapook et al., Mycosphere 7(11): 1737 (2016).
MycoBank number: MB 552528; Index Fungorum: IF 552528; Facesoffungi number: FoF 02653, 3 species.
Saprobic on surface of dead rachides and spines of Arecaceae. Sexual morph: Ascomata superficial, solitary or scattered, coriaceous, appearing as circular, scattered, flattened, dark brown to black spots, covering the host, without a subiculum, with a poorly developed basal layer and an irregular margin. Ostiole central. Peridium comprising of dark brown or black to light brown cell of textura epidermoidea at top with light brown cells of textura angularis at side. Hamathecium comprising cylindrical to filiform, septate, cellular pseudoparaphyses. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, inequilateral to ovoid, pedicellate, straight or slightly curved, without small ocular chamber. Ascospores overlapping, irregularly arranged, broadly fusiform, hyaline, 1-septate, constricted at the septum, guttulate, surrounded by hyaline gelatinous sheath, observed clearly when mounted in Indian ink. Asexual morph: Undetermined.
Type: Palawania Syd. & P. Syd.
Notes: The family was placed in Muyocopronales, based on phylogeny and morphology, together with the use of divergence times as additional evidence for the introduction of this family (Mapook et al. 2016c). Palawania species share some morphological characters with Muyocopron species, but differ in its peridium, shape of asci and ascospores which are surrounded by a hyaline gelatinous sheath, while the character was not found in Muyocopron. In the analyses of Hongsanan et al. (2020, Fig. 1), Palawaniaceae has uncertain phylogenetic placement. Thus, we place this family in Dothideomycetes families incertae sedis, until sequence of type species is available.
Genera