''Lophiostoma'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of ascomycetous fungi in the family

Lophiostomataceae The Lophiostomataceae are a family (biology), family of fungi in the order (biology), order Pleosporales. Taxa have a widespread distribution, especially in temperate regions, and are saprobic or necrotrophic on herbaceous and woody stems. The f ...

. Species are commonly found growing both on living and

dead wood Dead wood may refer to: *Dead tree (disambiguation) * Dead wood, the "straight man" in a double act *Dead Wood (novel), ''Dead Wood'' (novel), a 2009 novel by Chris Longmuir * Dead Wood (film), ''Dead Wood'' (film), a 2007 British film See also< ...

, bark of

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

trees, on shrubs and on

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

hosts. They are also found in freshwater, and marine environments. The genus both forms fruit bodies with sexual reproducing with

ascocarp An ascocarp, or ascoma (: ascomata), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. Ascoc ...

in the form of a

perithecium An ascocarp, or ascoma (: ascomata), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. Ascoc ...

and asexual reproduction in the form of

conidia A conidium ( ; : conidia), sometimes termed an asexual chlamydospore or chlamydoconidium (: chlamydoconidia), is an asexual, non- motile spore of a fungus. The word ''conidium'' comes from the Ancient Greek word for dust, ('). They are also ...

. The

are usually flaskshaped or pearshaped ( piriform), 0,2-0,6 mm (200-600 μm) wide, black of color and with a smooth surface without excrescence. The shape of the top of the

called

ostiole An ''ostiole'' is a small hole or opening through which algae or fungi release their mature spores. The word is a diminutive of wikt:ostium, "ostium", "opening". The term is also used in higher plants, for example to denote the opening of the ...

has a characteristic slitlike opening. They grow either on very top of the substrate with most of its whole

on the top or with only the

sticking through and the rest of the fruitbody below the surface. There are many species of

ascomycetes Ascomycota is a phylum of the kingdom Fungi that, together with the Basidiomycota, forms the subkingdom Dikarya. Its members are commonly known as the sac fungi or ascomycetes. It is the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 64,000 species. The de ...

that form fruit-bodies alike those of ''Lophiostoma'' found both in class Dothidemycetes and

Sordariomycetes Sordariomycetes is a class of fungi in the subdivision Pezizomycotina (Ascomycota). It is the second-largest class of Ascomycota, with a worldwide distribution that mostly accommodates terrestrial based taxa, although several can also be found in ...

, but the slitlike and somewhat

oblong An oblong is an object longer than it is wide, especially a non-square rectangle. Oblong may also refer to: Places * Oblong, Illinois, a village in the United States * Oblong Township, Crawford County, Illinois, United States * A strip of land ...

opening of the

are characteristic but not exclusive.

Nomenclature Nomenclature (, ) is a system of names or terms, or the rules for forming these terms in a particular field of arts or sciences. (The theoretical field studying nomenclature is sometimes referred to as ''onymology'' or ''taxonymy'' ). The principl ...

''Lophiostoma'' was formally established by Cesati and De Notaris (1863), and lectotypified by ''L. macrostomum''. The name of ''Lophiostoma'' meaning small crested mouth/door in Latin, which refer to the characteristic shape of the slitlike

of the genus. Latin: <, small crest + - <, mouth or <, door both referring to the pore or opening, usually at the top of diverse reproductive organs, here in the form of an

Ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

''Lophiostoma'' are saprophytes that grow on herbaceous and woody plants from terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments.

Morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

The fruit body of the sexual reproduction (

teleomorph In mycology, the terms teleomorph, anamorph, and holomorph apply to portions of the life cycles of fungi in the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota: *Teleomorph: the sexual reproductive stage (morph), typically a fruiting body. *Anamorph: an ase ...

) are characterized as having immersed to

erumpent {{Short pages monitor

Nomenclature Nomenclature (, ) is a system of names or terms, or the rules for forming these terms in a particular field of arts or sciences. (The theoretical field studying nomenclature is sometimes referred to as ''onymology'' or ''taxonymy'' ). The principl ...

Ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

Morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

Morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...