Kirschsteiniothelia
Kirschsteiniothelia D. Hawksw., J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 91: 182 (1985)
Synonymy: Dendryphiopsis S. Hughes, Can. J. Bot. 31:655 (1953)
Saprobic mostly on dead wood in terrestrial or submerged wood in freshwater habitats. Sexual morph: Ascomata superficial, solitary or clustered, subglobose to globose, membranaceous, dark brown to black, with a central papilla. Peridium composed of several layers of cells of textura angularis. Pseudoparaphyses numerous, trabeculate, filiform, hyaline. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, cylindric-clavate, long pedicellate, apically rounded, with an ocular chamber. Ascospores biseriate, ellipsoidal, dull green, olive brown to dark brown at maturity, 1–2-septate, smooth-walled (Hawksworth 1985; Boonmee et al. 2012). Asexual morph: Hyphomycetous. Conidiophores macronematous, mononematous, erect, gregarious, elongate, and thick-walled, straight, and slightly curved, apically branched, septate, brown to dark brown, smooth-walled. Conidiogenous cells holoblastic, monoblastic, terminal, constricted at delimiting septa. Conidia broadly ellipsoid-obovoid, fusiform to obclavate, rounded at both ends, initially 1-septate, later becoming 2-septate, occasionally 3-septate, constricted, and darkly pigmented at the septa, reddish brown to dark brown, grayish brown, smooth-walled (Hyde et al. 2013; Su et al. 2016). (Descriptions from Dong et al. 2020)
Type species: Kirschsteiniothelia atra (Corda) D. Hawksw.
Notes: Kirschsteiniothelia is characterized by superficial, subglobose to globose ascomata, cylindric-clavate asci and ellipsoidal, dull green, olive-brown to dark brown ascospores (Boonmee et al. 2012). The asexual morph of Kirschsteiniothelia has been connected to Dendryphiopsis, typified by D. atra (Corda) S. Hughes with molecular data (Boonmee et al. 2012; Hyde et al. 2013; Su et al. 2016). For convenience, Wijayawardene et al. (2014) proposed to use Kirschsteiniothelia over Dendryphiopsis and named K. atra as the type species. All Kirschsteiniothelia species formed a well-supported clade and were placed in Kirschsteiniotheliaceae by Boonmee et al. (2012). Six freshwater species with molecular data have been accepted in the genus and all of which are asexual morphs (see list below). All freshwater species have unbranched conidiophores and mostly clavate conidia (slender conidia in K. fluminicola Z.L. Luo et al.), except K. aethiops (Sacc.) D. Hawksw. producing branched conidiophores and cylindrical conidia (Su et al. 2016). (Notes from Dong et al. 2020)
List of freshwater Kirschsteiniothelia species
*Kirschsteiniothelia aquatica Z.L. Luo, K.D. Hyde & H.Y. Su, Mycosphere 9(4): 759 (2018)
*Kirschsteiniothelia atra (Corda) D. Hawksw., Fungal Diversity 69:37 (2014)
Basionym: Dendryphion atrum Corda, Icon. fung. (Prague) 4: 33 (1840)
Synonymy: Amphisphaeria aethiops Sacc., Syll. fung. (Abellini) 1: 722 (1882)
Dendryphiopsis atra (Corda) S. Hughes, Can. J. Bot. 31: 655 (1953)
Sphaeria aethiops Berk. & Curtis, Grevillea 4: 143 (1876)
Kirschsteiniothelia aethiops (Sacc.) D. Hawksw., J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 91(1-2): 185 (1985)
*Kirschsteiniothelia cangshanensis Z.L. Luo, D.F. Bao, K.D. Hyde & H.Y. Su, Mycosphere 9(4): 760 (2018)
*Kirschsteiniothelia fluminicola Z.L. Luo, K.D. Hyde & H.Y. Su, Mycosphere 9(4): 760 (2018)
*Kirschsteiniothelia rostrata J Yang & K.D. Hyde, Fungal Diversity 87: 45 (2017)
*Kirschsteiniothelia submersa H.Y. Su & K.D. Hyde, Fungal Diversity (2016)
Key to freshwater Kirschsteiniothelia species
1. Conidiophores branched............................. K. atra
1. Conidiophores unbranched.......................... 2
2. Conidia slender, solitary to short-catenate..... K. fluminicola
2. Conidia not slender, solitary…....................... 3
3. Conidia with sheath…................................. 4
3. Conidia without sheath…............................. 5
4. Conidia 33–43 μm long................................ K. cangshanensis
4. Conidia 80–150 μm long.............................. K. rostrata
5. Conidiophores 114–151 × 7–8 μm............... K. aquática
5. Conidiophores 220–280 × 6–7 μm............... K. submersa