Saccothecium Fr., Fl. Scan.: 349 (1836).
≡ Metasphaeria Sacc., Syll. fung. (Abellini) 2: 156 (1883)
≡ Phaeodothiora Petr., Sydowia 2(1–6): 82 (1948)
≡ Pleosphaerulina Pass., Atti R. Acad. Lincei, Rendiconti Cl. Sci. Fis., sér. 5 7(2): 46 (1891)
≡ Schizostege Theiss., Annls mycol. 14(6): 415 (1917) [1916]
Index Fungorum number: IF 4819; MycoBank number: MB 4819; Facesoffungi number: FoF 00107; 9 morphological species (Species Fungorum 2020), 2 species with molecular data.
Parasitic or saprobic on woody branches and rarely on leaves in terrestrial habitats. Sexual state: Ascomata black, immersed to erumpent, solitary or gregarious, globose to subglobose, usually uniloculate, thick-walled, sometimes ostiolate. Peridium composed of several layers of brown to dark brown pseudoparenchymatous cells of textura angularis. Hamathecium lacking pseudoparaphyses. Asci eight-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, saccate to broad-clavate, becoming cylindric-clavate just before rupture, with a short bifurcate pedicel or apedicellate, apex broadly rounded with a distinct ocular chamber. Ascospores biseriate to triseriate, partially overlapping, hyaline, 3 to many septate, muriform to phragmosporous, obovoid or elliptic with broadly to narrowly rounded ends. Asexual state: Aureobasidium-like; conidia hyaline or brownish, ovate, aseptate (Barr 1972).
Type species – Saccothecium sepincola (Fr.) Fr.
Notes – Fries (1836) established Saccothecium and subsequently, several species were added to the genus based on morphology (Kirschstein 1938, 1939, Vasilyeva & Mel’nik 2006). Pande (2008) introduced several Saccothecium species, which had been classified under Pringsheimia or Metasphaeria, but most are invalid (Index Fungorum 2020). This genus is characterized in having immersed to erumpent, uniloculate ascomata and hyaline, 3 to many septate, muriform to phragmosporous ascospores.
Species