Floromyces, a new genus of Ustilaginomycotina

Abstract

A comparison of Thecaphora anemarrhenae, on the monocotyledonous Anemarrhena asphodeloides (Agavaceae, Liliaceae s. lat.), with Thecaphora species, all on eudicotyledonous host plants, revealed that it belongs to a different genus. Based on morphological characters of the sori, spore balls, spores, spore germination, host-parasite interaction and septal pore structure, as well as on DNA analyses, a new genus, Floromyces, is described for T. anemarrhenae. For both Floromyces and Antherospora, a new family, Floromycetaceae is proposed within the Urocystales.