Clonostachys Corda

Clonostachys Corda, 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).