Lentitheciaceae

The Lentitheciaceae are a family of fungi in the order of Pleosporales. They are found world-wide (within China, Egypt, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Russia, Saudi, Thailand, UK and Uzbekistan,) with the greatest contributions found in Europe and Australia.

In a phylogenetic study of Lophiostoma and Massarina species, Lentithecium was proposed in 2009 based on Lophiostoma fluvitale now called Lentithecium fluviatile (Aptroot & Van Ryck.) K.D.Hyde, J.Fourn. & Ying Zhang. Lentitheciaceae is a well supported clade.

Lentitheciaceous taxa are saprobic (living on dead tissue) on herbaceous and woody plants having narrow peridia, fusiform to broadly cylindrical pseudoparaphyses (sterile, thread-like filaments), hyaline (glassy appearance) ascospores with 1–3-transverse septa and containing refractive globules, surrounded by a mucilaginous sheath or extended appendage-like sheaths and asexual morphs producing stagonospora-like or dendrophoma-like asexual morphs. They are found in terrestrial or aquatic habitats.