Melanconiella Sacc., Syll. fung. (Abellini) 1: 740 (1882)

Fan, Xinlei, Du, Zhuo, Bezerra, Jadson D. P. & Tian, Chengming, 2018, Taxonomic circumscription of melanconis-like fungi causing canker disease in China, MycoKeys 42, pp. 89-124 : 101

Melanconiella Sacc., Syll. fung. (Abellini) 1: 740 (1882)

Type species.

Melanconiella spodiaea (Tul. & C. Tul.) Sacc., Syll. fung. ( Abellini ) 1: 740 (1882)

Notes.

The genus Melanconiella was established by Saccardo (1882) for two species, Melanconis spodiaea Tul. & C. Tul. and M. chrysostroma (Fr.) Tul. & C. Tul. The genus subsequently entered a long period of confusion with a broad concept of the melanconidaceous genera Melanconium and Melanconis Tul. & C. Tul. ( Wehmeyer 1937, 1941; Barr 1987). Melanconiella has 37 species epithets recorded in Index Fungorum (2018). Voglmayr et al. (2012) revised the generic circumscriptions of Melanconiella with 13 accepted species, excluded numerous species and confirmed that it is genetically distinct from the genus Melanconis based on morphology and multi-gene phylogeny (ITS, LSU, RPB2 and TEF1-α). Melanconiella is characterised by forming circularly arranged perithecia immersed in the substrate with oblique or lateral ostioles convergent and erumpent through an ectostromatic disc with dark coloured or hyaline ascospores; acervuli with light-coloured central column, producing dark brown melanconium-like or hyaline discosporina-like conidia (not in the same species) ( Barr 1978; Voglmayr et al. 2012). Melanconiella species were observed to be highly host-specific, as they were found to be confined to a single genus or sometimes even species within the host family Betulaceae from Europe and North America ( Voglmayr et al. 2012).