User:DavidAnstiss/Xylobotryales

Xylobotryales is an order of fungi within the phylum of Ascomycota and in the class Xylobotryomycetes and subdivision of Pezizomycotina.

The order contains 2 known families, Xylobotryaceae, with 1 genera (Xylobotryum and its 5 known species ) and family Cirrosporiaceae with 1 genera (Cirrosporium and 1 known species, Cirrosporium novae-zelandiae ).

Taxonomy

 * Phylum Ascomycota R.T.Moore, 1980
 * Class Xylobotryomycetes Voglmayr & Jaklitsch in Voglmayr et al.,
 * Order Xylobotryales Voglmayr & Jaklitsch in Voglmayr et al.
 * Family Xylobotryaceae Voglmayr & Jaklitsch in Voglmayr et al.
 * Genus Xylobotryum Pat. in Pat. & Langerh.
 * Species Xylobotryum andinum
 * Species Xylobotryum coralloides
 * Species Xylobotryum dussii
 * Species Xylobotryum portentosum
 * Species Xylobotryum rickii


 * Family Cirrosporiaceae
 * Genus Cirrosporium S.Hughes
 * Species Cirrosporium novae-zelandiae

History
Phylogenetic analyses of a combined DNA data matrix containing nuclear small and large subunits (nSSU, nLSU) and mitochondrial small subunit (mtSSU) ribosomal RNA and the largest and second largest subunits of the RNA polymerase II (rpb1, rpb2) of representative Pezizomycotina revealed that the enigmatic genera Xylobotryum and Cirrosporium form an isolated, highly supported phylogenetic lineage within Leotiomyceta. The generic type species is X. andinum

Xylobotryum is an enigmatic stromatic ascomycete genus characterised by a unique suite of characters, i.e., perithecioid ascomata on erect, branched or unbranched stromata, a hama-thecium of true paraphyses with apically free ends, bitunicate ﬁssitunicate asci with an apically or laterally rupturing ectotu-nica and a thick endotunica with an inamyloid apical ring, and bicellular brown ellipsoid ascospores with 3–5 longitudinal germ slits per ascospore cell (Ju & Rogers 1994).

Distribution
It has a scattered distribution, it has been found in South America, Australia and New Zealand, as well as parts of North America, Europe and Africa.