Trichopeltinaceae Bat., C.A.A. Costa & Cif., Atti dell’Istituto Botanico della Università e Laboratorio Crittogamico di Pavia 15: 37 (1958).
MycoBank number: MB 81489; Index Fungorum number: IF 81489; Facesoffungi number: FoF 06203, 29 species.
Epiphytic on living leaves, appearing as rounded or linear, or “root-like” darkened areas. Thallus very thin on the surface of the host plant, superficial, comprising neatly or irregularly arranged, angular or cylindrical to cuboid cells, with brown to dark brown walls. Sexual morph: Thyriothecia developing under thallus tissue, globose to subglobose, flattened, with a porate, central ostiole. Hamathecium usually lacking pseudoparaphyses, sometimes comprising hyaline pseudoparaphyses. Asci 6–8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, subglobose to clavate, short pedicellate or apedicellate, long pedicellate when immature in some species, apically rounded, sometimes with small ocular chamber or apical ring. Ascospores 2–4-seriate, oblong to ellipsoidal, or clavate, hyaline to pale brown, 1–3-septate or muriform, slightly constricted at the septa in some species, smoothwalled. Asexual morph: Undetermined.
Type: Trichopeltina Theiss.
Notes: Trichopeltinaceae are epiphytes on leaves of various plants with a worldwide distribution. The name Trichopeltinaceae was predated by Trichopeltaceae (Theissen 1914b). Batista et al. (1958) renamed the family to Trichopeltinaceae based on Trichopeltina, and accommodated genera that have flattened thyriothecia developing under a thallus viz. Brefeldiella, Petrakiopeltis, Phragmoscutella, Trichopeltella, Trichopeltheca, Trichopeltina, Trichopeltospora and Trichopeltum. Genera of Trichopeltinaceae with thyriothecia were transferred to Stephanothecaceae (Petrak 1947c; Luttrell 1951). However, Stephanothecaceae (type genus Stephanotheca) has a hypostroma, and was considered to be distinct from Trichopeltinaceae (Bessey 1952; Batista et al. 1958). This was supported by Jayawardena et al. (2014) who illustrated the thyriothecia of Stephanotheca as individual and not covered by a thallus. Hyde et al. (2013) referred the name Brefeldiellaceae to this group, and divided Brefeldiellaceae into Brefeldiineae and Trichopeltineae. However, the older name Trichopeltinaceae should be used to accommodate this group (Hongsanan et al. 2014a). In the following account, Acrogenotheca, Brefeldiella, Saccardinula, Trichopeltella, Trichopeltheca and Trichopeltina (Trichopeltum) are included in Trichopeltinaceae based on their thyriothecia being covered by a “skin-like” thallus.