Pleosporales - CBS - KNAW

Fungal Diversity
spored, bitunicate, cylindrical, with short pedicels (Fig. 63b).
Ascospores 45–56×14–19 μm (x ¼ 49:5 15:9mm, n=10),
uniseriate to partially overlapping, ellipsoidal, hyaline, 1-3-
septate, constricted at the septa, central cells larger, apical
cells if present small and elongated, surrounded with
mucilaginous sheath, 5–22 μm wide (Fig. 63c, d and e).
Anamorph: none reported.
Material examined: Jan. 1984, Herb. IMI 297770,
slides 1–10 (holotype) and dried wood (isotype).
Notes
Morphology
Two Massarina sensu lato species described from the
marine environment, viz. M. ramunculicola (Sacc.) O.E.
Erikss. & J.Z. Yue and M. velataspora K.D. Hyde & Borse,
form a robust clade, and a new genus Morosphaeria was
established for them (Suetrong et al. 2009). Together with
two Helicascus species, they belong to Morosphaeriaceae
(another marine family) (Suetrong et al. 2009). Morphologically,
Morosphaeria is characterized by solitary to
gregarious, subglobose to lenticular, immersed to superficial
ascomata which are ostiolate and papillate, numerous,
filliform pseudoparaphyses, 8-spored, clavate to cylindrical,
bitunicate, fissitunicate asci, and hyaline, 1-3-septate,
fusoid to ellipsoidal ascospores which are surrounded with
mucilaginous sheath.
Phylogenetic study
Species of Morosphaeria form a sister group with
Helicascus and both of these genera were assigned to a
new family, i.e. Morosphaeriaceae (Suetrong et al. 2009).
In this study, a strain of Asteromassaria pulchra, occuring
on dead twigs of Prunus spinosa, is basal to other species
of Morosphaeriaceae, and gets well support. Thus here we
tentatively assign Asteromassaria in Morosphaeriaceae.
Fig. 63 Morosphaeria velataspora (from IMI 297770, type). a Section of an ascoma. b Cylindrical asci embedded in pseudoparaphyses. c–e
Hyaline, 1-3-septate, ascospores with mucilaginous sheath. Scale bars: a=100 μm, b=50 μm, c–e=20 μm