THE GENUS XYLARIA

Images of several species are given on the left: Xylaria allantoidea (Berk.) Fr., X. grammica (Mont.) Fr., X. melanura (Lév.) Sacc., X. nigripes (Klotzsch) Sacc., X. schweinitzii Berk. & M. A. Curtis, and X. scopiformis Kunze. Information on the genus can be found below.
* Dennis, R. W. G. 1957. Further notes on tropical American Xylariaceae. Kew Bull. 1957: 297-332.
* Dennis, R. W. G. 1958. Some Xylosphaeras of tropical Africa. Revista Biol., Lisboa 1: 175-208.
* Dennis, R. W. G. 1961. Xylarioideae and Thamnomycetoideae of Congo. Bull. Jard. Bot. État 31: 109-154.
* Dennis, R. W. G. 1964. Further records of Congo Xylariaceae. Bull. Jard. Bot. État 34: 231-241.
* Dennis, R. W. G. 1974. Xylariaceae from Papua and New Guinea. Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Lyon, num. spéc. 43: 127-138.
* Rogers, J. D. 1979. Xylaria magnoliae sp. nov. and comments on several other fruit-inhabiting species. Canad. J. Bot. 57: 941-945.
* Rogers, J. D. 1983. Xylaria bulbosa, Xylaria curta, and Xylaria longipes in continental United States. Mycologia 75: 457-467.
* Rogers, J. D. 1984. Xylaria acuta, Xylaria cornu-damae, and Xylaria mali in continental United States. Mycologia 76: 23-33.
* Rogers, J. D. 1984. Xylaria cubensis and its anamorph Xylocoremium flabelliforme, Xylaria allantoidea, and Xylaria poitei in continental United States. Mycologia 76: 912-913.
* Rogers, J. D. 1985. Anamorphs of Xylaria: Taxonomic considerations. Sydowia 38:255-262.
* Rogers, J. D., and B. E. Callan. 1986. Xylaria polymorpha and its allies in continental United States. Mycologia 78: 391-400.
* Rogers, J. D., B. E. Callan, A. Y. Rossman, and G. J. Samuels. 1988. Xylaria (Sphaeriales, Xylariaceae) from Cerro de la Neblina, Venezuela. Mycotaxon 31: 103-153.
* Rogers, J. D., B. E. Callan, and G. J. Samuels. 1987. The Xylariaceae of the rain forests of North Sulawesi (Indonesia). Mycotaxon 29: 113-172.
* Rogers, J. D., Y.-M. Ju, and D. E. Hemmes. 1997. Xylaria moelleroclavus sp. nov. and its Moelleroclavus anamorphic state. Mycol. Res. 101: 345-348.
* Rogers, J. D., and G. J. Samuels. 1986. Ascomycetes of New Zealand 8. Xylaria. New Zealand J. Bot. 24: 615-650.
* San Martín, F., and J. D. Rogers. 1989. A preliminary account of Xylaria of Mexico. Mycotaxon 34: 283-373.

This genus has the following characteristics:

stromatal tissue quantity: distributed above, around, and beneath perithecia
stromatal layers: unipartite
stromatal surface level: erumpent or superficial
stromatal interior: essentially homogeneous
stromatal orange granules surrounding perithecia: absent
stromatal KOH pigments: absent
stromatal conidium-bearing discs: absent
stromatal bases: stipitate or, if sessile, conspicuously constricted
stromatal aggregation: not forming a crust
stromatal shapes: other than wiry
coremial pegs or remnants: absent
subiculum: absent
substrates: associated with dung or associated with insect nests or associated with substrates other than dung or insect nests
ascomatal number per stroma: mostly multiperitheciate
ascomatal ostioles: present
ascomatal configurations: not valsoid
ascomatal orientation: mostly oriented horizontally
ascal apical rings: present
ascus height vs width: usually higher than wide
ascospore cell number: one-celled
ascospore shapes: other than cuboid
ascospore color: colored
ascospore ornamentation: smooth
ascospore germination site morphology: slit-like
perispore dehiscence: indehiscent
anamorphs: Geniculosporium-like
cultural gross morphology on oatmeal agar: not highly furrowed or distorted
places where teleomorph and anamorph are produced: on the same stromata in most species