Fungi of Australia - Ascomycota

Ascomycota

Commonly called ascomycetes, this group, the Ascomycota, is likely to be the largest fungal phylum in Australia in terms of species numbers. Australia's ascomycetes include some large and conspicuous fungi, but the fruitbodies produced by most species are less than about 1 cm in their largest dimension. The range of habitats they occupy is the same as for the fungi as a whole. Most of Australia's lichen-forming fungi belong in this group. With a few exceptions, the ascomycetes of Australia are very poorly known, and many remain undiscovered. Partly because of their importance in forestry, species associated with Eucalyptus trees have received considerable attention and, with hundreds known to be associated with some of the more studied tree species, it is clear that these fungi form a huge, complex and important component of Australia's forests. Charismatic species include the "golf-fall fungi" (species of the genus Cyttaria) which occur only on living branches of Nothofagus trees. Australia's native truffles (subterranean ascomycetes) form another distinct and interesting group which remains poorly known.