Phaeodothis Syd. & P. Syd., Annls mycol. 2(2): 166 (1904).
Index Fungorum number: IF 3914; MycoBank number: MB 3914; Facesoffungi number: FoF 00059; 21 morphological species (Species Fungorum 2020), 2 species with molecular data.
Saprobic or parasitic on dead wood or grasses in terrestrial environments. Sexual state: Ascostromata subglobose to hemispherical, immersed, scattered to gregarious, dark brown to black. Peridium comprising several layers of hyaline compressed cells. Hamathecium of dense, cellular pseudoparaphyses often in a gelatinous matrix. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, cylindrical, short pedicellate. Ascospores fusiform with rounded ends, olivaceous brown. Asexual state: unknown.
Type species – Phaeodothis tricuspidis Syd. & P. Syd., Annls mycol. 2(2): 166 (1904).
Notes – Phaeodothis was placed in Didymosphaeria by von Niessl (1875), and Aptroot (1995) transferred it to Phaeosphaeriaceae. However, Phaeodothis species share similar morphological characteristics with the other genera in Didymosphaeriaceae in having ascomata immersed under a clypeus, a pseudoparenchymatous peridium with small cells, cylindrical asci and brown ascospores (Zhang et al. 2012b, Ariyawansa et al. 2014d), but differs in having a hamathecium consisting of sparse pseudoparaphyses and 1- septate ascospores. Recent studies have also confirmed Phaeodothis in Didymosphaeriaceae (Ariyawansa et al. 2014d). Phaeodothis mori was introduced by Tennakoon et al. (2020).
Species