Vamsapriyaceae Y.R. Sun, Yong Wang bis & K.D. Hyde, in Sun, et al., Journal of Fungi 7(891), 7 (2021)

Index Fungorum number: IF 558620; Facesoffungi number: FoF 09926

Etymology – Name reflects the type genus

Type genus – Vamsapriya Gawas & Bhat

Saprobic on dead wood. Sexual morph: Ascomata solitary, scattered, immersed, subglobose, black, ostiolate. Peridium thin-walled, brown. Paraphyses hyaline, septate. Asci 8-spored, unitunicate, cylindrical, short pedicellate, with a J+ apical ring. Ascospores apiosporous, fusiform to broad fusiform, hyaline. Asexual morph: Hyphomycetous. Colonies on natural substrate effuse, black, velvety. Mycelium immersed, septate, branched. Synnemata present or absent; when present (Didymobotryum, Podosporium, Tretophragmia, Vamsapriya), synnemata erect, rigid, dark brown, composed of compact parallel conidiophores. Conidiophores erect, straight or curved, cylindrical, dark brown, septate. Conidiogenous cells mono- or polytretic, integrated, terminal, clavate to cylindrical, brown. Conidia catenate or solitary, acrogenous, simple, pigmented, multi-shaped, septate; when absent (Diabolocovidia, adapted from Crous et al.), conidiophores micronematous, flexuous, mostly reduced to a terminal conidiogenous cell. Conidiogenous cells monoblastic, subcylindrical to clavate, pale brown, and smooth. Conidia catenate, acrogenous, brown, ellipsoid to obovoid, thin-walled, aseptate.

Notes – A new family, Vamsapriyaceae, is introduced to accommodate Diabolocovidia, Didymobotryum, Podosporium, Tretophragmia, and Vamsapriya. Their phylogenetic position, which is distinct from other families, supports the establishment of the new family within Xylariales. Although the phylogeny of Podosporium and Tretophragmia could not be inferred due to the lack of molecular data, their morphological characters resemble Didymobotryum and Vamsapriya in having brown to dark, simple, straight synnemata, monotretic conidiogenous cells, and solitary, obclavate, multi-septate, dark brown conidia. We thus temporarily accept Podosporium and Tretophragmia in Vamsapriyaceae based on morphology. Sequence data are needed to resolve their phylogenetic affinities.

Genera