Tricladiaceae P.R. Johnst. & Baschien, fam. nov.
MycoBank number: MB 834831; Index Fungorum number: IF 834831; Facesoffungi number: FoF 14076
Etymology: Named after the type genus Tricladium, the oldest of the genera accepted in the family.
Diagnosis: Phylogenetically forming a monophyletic clade positioned basally to Helotiaceae plus Pleuroascaceae, found in wet habitats, asexual morph with complex elongate, curved, branched or coiled conidia, sexual morph with sessile to stipitate, glabrous apothecia with excipulum of non-gelatinous, more or less globose, thin-walled cells, ascus apex hymenoscyphus-like.
Type: Tricladium Ingold
Description: Asexual and sexual morphs associated with wet habitats, isolated from foam samples from flowing fresh water, or growing on dead woody or herbaceous substrates in streams, ponds, and lakes. Spores from the asexual morph are complex in shape, branched to worm-like, long fusoid and curved, or forming irregular coils; conidiogenous cells simple or on branched conidiophores, sometimes in sporodochia; conidiogenesis holoblastic, thalloblastic, or proliferating percurrently. Sexual morph with apothecia that are sessile to stipitate, glabrous, pale in colour, centrally attached to substrate, often with a dense pad of basal anchoring hyphae, these hyphae with gelatinous walls; excipulum nongelatinous, cells more or less subglobose, short- cylindric externally toward margin of apothecium, arranged at low angle to receptacle surface; asci with hymenoscyphus-like amyloid ring.
Species