Clonostachys Corda

Clonostachys Corda View in CoL View at ENA , Pracht-Fl. Eur. Schimmelbild: 31 (1839)

Classification.

Bionectriaceae , Hypocreales , Sordariomycetes.

Morphological characteristics.

Sexual morph: Ascomata perithecial. Perithecia superficial, solitary to gregarious, subglobose to globose, papillate or non-papillate, no colour change in 3 % KOH or 100 % LA. Asci clavate to subcylindrical, 6–8 - spored. Ascospores ellipsoidal to oblong ellipsoidal, uniseptate, hyaline, smooth-walled, uniseriate or irregular biseriate. Asexual morph: Hyphomycetous. Conidiophores dimorphic or monomorphic, sporodochial, synnematous, hyaline, brown or blackish brown. Phialides phialidic, cylindrical to flask-shaped. Conidia aseptate, hyaline, smooth, ovoid to ellipsoid.

Type species.

Clonostachys araucaria Corda , Pracht-Fl. Eur. Schimmelbild.: 31 (1839)

Notes.

Clonostachys is the second largest genus in Bionectriaceae , with 130 epithets (Index Fungorum 2025). Several members of Clonostachys are ecologically and economically important ( Abeywickrama et al. 2023). Some Clonostachys spp. are destructive, including parasitic in myxomycetes, nematodes, ticks, molluscs, and leafhoppers ( Schroers 2001; Toledo et al. 2006; Perera et al. 2023). Clonostachys rosea and C. catenulata are reported as destructive to ascomycetes and basidiomycetes ( Schroers 2001; Chatterton et al. 2008) and C. chuyangsinensis and C. aranearum have been reported as spider-pathogenic fungi ( Wan et al. 2016; Wang et al. 2023).

Clonostachys rosea has been studied as a potential biological control agent for various plant diseases and pests such as strawberry gray mold ( Cota et al. 2008), Fusarium head blight of wheat ( Xue et al. 2008), and Pythium tracheiphilum in Chinese cabbage ( Møller et al. 2003). Several closely related species to Clonostachys rosea , such as C. byssicola , C. chloroleuca , C. rhizophaga , and C. solani also possess biocontrol properties ( Mendoza García et al. 2003; Krauss et al. 2013; Sun et al. 2017; Broberg et al. 2021).