Valsariaceae Jaklitsch, K.D. Hyde & Voglmayr, in Jaklitsch et al., Fungal Diversity 73: 167 (2015).
MycoBank number: MB 811901; Index Fungorum number: IF 811901; Facesoffungi number: FoF 06561, 41 species.
Saprobic and pathogens in bark of dicotyledons in terrestrial habitats or on culms of bamboo. Sexual morph: Stromata eu- or pseudostromatic, immersed, erumpent to superficial on bark, enclosed on top and/or at the sides by a black pseudoparenchymatous. Ascomata perithecial, immersed in the stromata, usually monostichous in valsoid or diatrypoid configuration, upright or oblique, with several ostiolar necks fusing into one. Ostiole periphysate. Peridium composed of several cell layers of brown to black cells. Hamathecium comprising numerous paraphyses. Asci 4–8-spored, bitunicate, with or without obvious fissitunicate, cylindrical, with short pedicel, an ocular chamber apex, and a pulvinate ring staining in Congo Red. Ascospores (often obliquely) uni-seriate, ellipsoid to subfusiform, dark brown, 1-septate, with a dark, usually not or slightly constricted at the septum, budding in artificial culture, with surface ornamentation. Asexual morph: in nature coelomycetous, in culture hyphomycetous or coelomycetous. Conidia produced on phialides, minute pegs or by budding of ascospores and conidia, oblong or bullet-shaped, hyaline, 1-celled, smooth- walled, with inconspicuous guttules.
Type: Valsaria Ces. & De Not.
Notes: Based on bitunicate asci without obvious fissitunicate dehiscence, Ju et al. (1996) placed Valsaria in Dothideomycetes (as Loculoascomycetes). However, Kirk et al. (2008) referred Valsaria to Diaporthales (Sordariomycetes), based on the hamathecium consisting of true, apically free paraphyses, a true ascomatal wall distinct from the surrounding pseudostroma and unitunicate asci (Barr 1978, 1990; Glawe 1985; Huhndorf 1992). Recent phylogenetic analyses have shown Valsariaceae to be a distinct family within Dothideomycetes (Jaklitsch et al. 2015; Pem et al. 2019b). Valsariaceae was introduced by Jaklitsch et al. (2015) to accommodate Bambusaria, Myrmaecium and Valsaria, based on multi-gene phylogeny analyses of ITS, LSU, SSU, rpb-2 and tef1 sequence data.
Genera