{{Short description|Genus of lichen-forming fungi}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Use Oxford spelling|date=July 2025}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Stictis radiata (L.) Pers 419596.jpg | image_caption = ''Stictis radiata'' | taxon = Stictis | authority = Pers. (1800) | type_species = ''Stictis radiata'' | type_species_authority = (L.) Pers. (1800) | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = | synonyms_ref = <ref name="Species Fungorum synonymy"/> | synonyms = *''Conotrema'' {{au|Tuck. (1848)}} *''Conotrematomyces'' {{au|Cif. & Tomas. (1953)}} *''Cylindrina'' {{au|Pat. (1886)}} *''Lichenopsis'' {{au|Schwein. (1832)}} *''Phacobolus'' {{au|Fr. (1849)}} *''Platysticta'' {{au|Cooke (1889)}} *''Schmitzomia'' {{au|Fr. (1849)}} *''Stictis'' sect. ''Cyclostoma'' {{au|(P.Crouan & H.Crouan) Sherwood (1977)}} *''Stictis'' sect. ''Stictis'' {{au|Pers. (1800)}} }}
'''''Stictis''''' is a genus of fungi in the family Stictidaceae.<ref name="Wijayawardene et al. 2022"/> Most species are saprotrophic decomposers that inhabit dead wood, where they form small, flask-shaped fruiting bodies that remain largely embedded within their substrate and open through tiny pores. The genus is characterised by its distinctive white, frost-like rim that surrounds the fruiting bodies and thread-like ascospores divided by multiple cross-walls. Modern molecular phylogenetics studies suggest that the current broad concept of ''Stictis'' will likely be split into several separate genera as the group undergoes taxonomic revision.
==Taxonomy==
The genus ''Stictis'' was circumscribed in 1800 by the mycologist Christiaan Hendrik Persoon. In his original description, Persoon characterised the genus as having receptacles that were subcupuliform (somewhat cup-shaped) or obliterated and immersed in wood. He established two species: ''S. radiata'', described as immersed with a prominent white opening that was either entire or split in a radiating fashion, resembling certain ''Lycoperdon'' and ''Sphaerobolus'' species and characterised by a white, scalloped {{lichengloss|disc}} with brownish margin; and ''S. pallida'', distinguished by its pustule-like form with a pale opening that gaped elliptically. Persoon noted that these simple fungi consisted only of a fructifying disc enclosed in wood, with form and substance resembling ''Peziza'' species, though lacking a distinctly prominent margin—instead, the wood formed a nest-like structure with a shining, round opening that sometimes displayed the elliptical gaping characteristic of ''Hysterium'' species. This circumscription established ''Stictis'' as a genus of wood-inhabiting fungi with distinctive cup-shaped or slit-like fruiting bodies that remain largely embedded within their substrate.<ref name="Persoon 1800"/>
A molecular study of the ''Stictis''–''Conotrema'' complex in northern Scandinavia found that three phylogenetic species included both lichenized specimens traditionally placed in ''Conotrema'' and saprotrophic specimens identified as ''Stictis''. The two forms did not resolve as separate species in analyses of multiple genetic markers, but instead represented different expressions of the same fungal species. Wedin, Döring, and Gilenstam interpreted this as evidence of "optional lichenization", in which individuals of the same species can complete their life cycle either as a lichen on bark or as a saprotroph on bark-free wood, depending on substrate. They consequently argued that these fungi should ultimately be treated in ''Stictis'', the older generic name, rather than in ''Conotrema''.<ref name="Wedin et al. 2004"/>
Later work has shown that Persoon's broad concept of ''Stictis'' will probably not survive modern scrutiny. Molecular and detailed morphological studies have demonstrated that many of the {{lichengloss|characters}} once used to separate genera in the Stictidaceae—particularly the presence or absence of tiny filaments ({{lichengloss|periphysoids}}) lining the fruiting body opening—vary within ''Stictis'' itself and therefore provide little guidance for drawing generic boundaries. Because the genus is large, taxonomically neglected, and most species are short-lived saprobes in the tropics, recent authors predict that the present, very broad concept of ''Stictis'' will eventually be broken up, as several independent lineages now grouped under the name are likely to be recognised as separate genera during a thorough revision of the family.<ref name="Johnston & Park 2024"/>
==Description==
Most ''Stictis'' species are wholly saprotrophic and form no visible thallus; where a thallus is present it appears as a thin, whitish crust associated with scattered coccoid algae. The sexual fruiting bodies develop as flask- to lens-shaped apothecia that begin immersed in the substrate. They open through a minute pore and may later push up or split the surface, producing margins that range from smooth to ragged. A hallmark of the genus is the prominent, white, frost-like ({{lichengloss|pruinose}}) rim that surrounds many mature apothecia. The exposed {{lichengloss|disc}} remains moderately to deeply sunken and can be white, flesh-coloured, yellow-brown or nearly black; some species also carry a light dusting of pruina.<ref name="Cannon et al. 2024"/>
The apothecial wall ({{lichengloss|exciple}}) is typically three-layered and built from interwoven, narrow hyphae; it may include a false {{lichengloss|thalline margin}} formed from compressed host tissue invaded by fungal hyphae. In a few species this tissue becomes gelatinous when moist. Just beneath the pore lies a crystalline layer from which filamentous {{lichengloss|periphysoids}} arise; these hair-like elements may be simple or sparsely branched. The hymenium itself is packed with numerous thread-like paraphyses that can branch or swell at the tips and are often embedded in an iodine-positive (I⁺ blue) gel matrix.<ref name="Cannon et al. 2024"/>
Asci are cylindrical, functionally {{lichengloss|unitunicate}} and contain four or eight ascospores. They possess a conspicuous, non-refractive apical cap pierced by an iodine-negative pore. The spores are typically long-cylindrical to thread-like, colourless, and divided by many transverse septa; some species develop a faint gelatinous sheath around each spore. No asexual fruit bodies are known, and thin-layer chromatography has yet to reveal any distinctive secondary metabolites in the genus.<ref name="Cannon et al. 2024"/>
==Species== thumb|right|''Stictis cordylines'' thumb|right|''Stictis urceolatum'' {{As of|2025|July}}, Species Fungorum accepts 44 species of ''Stictis'':<ref name="CoL_7NGX"/> * ''Stictis anhuiensis'' {{au|Z.J.Li & C.L.Hou (2016)}}<ref name="Li & Hou 2016"/> – China * ''Stictis anomianthi'' {{au|N.I.de Silva, Lumyong & K.D.Hyde (2023)}} * ''Stictis arundinacea'' {{au|Pers. (1822)}} * ''Stictis asteliae'' {{au|P.R.Johnst. (1983)}}<ref name="Johnston 1983"/> * ''Stictis brunnescens'' {{au|Gilenstam, H.Döring & Wedin (2006)}}<ref name="Wedin et al. 2006"/> * ''Stictis carnea'' {{au|Seaver & Waterston (1941)}}<ref name="Seaver & Waterston 1941"/> * ''Stictis chrysopsis'' {{au|Ellis & Everh. (1894)}}<ref name="Ellis & Everhart 1894"/> * ''Stictis clavata'' {{au|P.R.Johnst. (1983)}}<ref name="Johnston 1983"/> * ''Stictis collospermi'' {{au|P.R.Johnst. (1983)}}<ref name="Johnston 1983"/> * ''Stictis confusa'' {{au|Gilenstam, H.Döring & Wedin (2006)}} * ''Stictis cordylines'' {{au|P.R.Johnst. (1983)}}<ref name="Johnston 1983"/> * ''Stictis dealbata'' {{au|P.R.Johnst. (1983)}}<ref name="Johnston 1983"/> * ''Stictis dicksoniae'' {{au|Sherwood (1977)}} * ''Stictis dumontii'' {{au|Sherwood (1977)}} * ''Stictis ecclesiensis'' {{au|Joanne E.Taylor, K.D.Hyde & E.B.G.Jones (2003)}} * ''Stictis elevata'' {{au|(P.Karst.) P.Karst. (1885)}} * ''Stictis elongatispora'' {{au|Graddon (1977)}} * ''Stictis friabilis'' {{au|(W.Phillips & Plowr.) Sacc. & Traverso (1911)}} * ''Stictis fuscella'' {{au|Sherwood (1977)}} * ''Stictis graminicola'' {{au|Lasch (1858)}} * ''Stictis graminum'' {{au|Desm. (1840)}} * ''Stictis hawaiensis'' {{au|E.K.Cash (1938)}}<ref name="Cash 1938"/> * ''Stictis himalayana'' {{au|(Nayaka & Upreti) S.Joshi & Upreti (2010)}} * ''Stictis immersa'' {{au|(Pass. ex Sacc.) Sherwood (1977)}} * ''Stictis inconstans'' {{au|P.R.Johnst. (1983)}}<ref name="Johnston 1983"/> * ''Stictis laciniata'' {{au|P.R.Johnst. (1983)}}<ref name="Johnston 1983"/> * ''Stictis lata'' {{au|P.R.Johnst. (1983)}}<ref name="Johnston 1983"/> * ''Stictis leucospermi'' {{au|Joanne E.Taylor, Crous & M.E.Palm (2001)}}<ref name="Taylor et al. 2001"/> * ''Stictis mollis'' {{au|Pers. (1822)}} * ''Stictis pachyspora'' {{au|(Rehm) Rehm (1888)}} * ''Stictis palniensis'' {{au|S.Joshi & Upreti (2012)}} * ''Stictis paucula'' {{au|P.R.Johnst. (1983)}}<ref name="Johnston 1983"/> * ''Stictis populorum'' {{au|(Gilenstam) Gilenstam (2005)}} * ''Stictis prominens'' {{au|Sherwood (1977)}} * ''Stictis radiata'' {{au|L.) Pers. (1800)}} * ''Stictis serenoae'' {{au|E.K.Cash (1943)}} * ''Stictis serpentaria'' {{au|Ellis & Everh. (1897)}} * ''Stictis stellata'' {{au|Wallr. (1833)}} * ''Stictis subbrachyspora'' {{au|S.Joshi & Upreti (2010)}} * ''Stictis subiculata'' {{au|P.R.Johnst. (1983)}}<ref name="Johnston 1983"/> * ''Stictis tortilis'' {{au|P.R.Johnst. (1983)}}<ref name="Johnston 1983"/> * ''Stictis trinervia'' {{au|P.R.Johnst. (1983)}}<ref name="Johnston 1983"/> * ''Stictis urceolata'' {{au|(Ach.) Gilenstam (2005)}} * ''Stictis virginea'' {{au|Cooke & W.Phillips (1879)}}
==References== <references>
<ref name="Cannon et al. 2024">{{cite book |last1=Cannon |first1=P. |last2=Coppins |first2=B. |last3=Aptroot |first3=A. |last4=Sanderson |first4=A. |last5=Simkin |first5=J. |year=2024 |chapter=Ostropales genera I, including ''Absconditella'', ''Belonia'', ''Clathroporinopsis'', ''Corticifraga'', ''Cryptodiscus'', ''Cryptolechia'', ''Francisrosea'', ''Gomphillus'', ''Gyalecta'', ''Gyalidea'', ''Gyalideopsis'', ''Jamesiella'', ''Karstenia'', ''Nanostictis'', ''Neopetractis'', ''Pachyphiale'', ''Petractis'', ''Phialopsis'', ''Phlyctis'', ''Ramonia'', ''Sagiolechia'', ''Secoliga'', ''Sphaeropezia'', ''Spirographa'', ''Stictis'', ''Thelopsis'', ''Thrombium'' and ''Xerotrema'' |title=Revisions of British and Irish Lichens |volume=38 |page=45 |url=https://britishlichensociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/Ostropales%201.pdf}}</ref>
<ref name="Cash 1938">{{cite journal |last=Cash |first=E.K. |year=1938 |title=New records of Hawaiian Discomycetes |journal=Mycologia |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=97–107 |doi=10.1080/00275514.1938.12017255 }}</ref>
<ref name="CoL_7NGX">{{Catalogue of Life |id=7NGX |title=''Stictis'' |access-date=15 July 2025}}</ref>
<ref name="Ellis & Everhart 1894">{{cite journal |last1=Ellis |first1=J.B. |last2=Everhart |first2=B.M. |year=1894 |title=New species of fungi from various localities |journal=Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia |volume=46 |pages=322–386}}</ref>
<ref name="Johnston 1983">{{cite journal |last=Johnston |first=P.R. |year=1983 |title=''Stictis'' and its anamorphs in New Zealand |journal=New Zealand Journal of Botany |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=249–279 |doi=10.1080/0028825X.1983.10428557}}</ref>
<ref name="Johnston & Park 2024">{{cite journal |last1=Johnston |first1=P.R. |last2=Park |first2=D. |title=Historical cultures provide insights into the taxonomy of ''Stictis'' sensu lato |journal=Fungal Systematics and Evolution |volume=14 |issue=1 |year=2024 |pmid=39830291 |pmc=11736256 |doi=10.3114/fuse.2024.14.10 |doi-access=free |pages=153–170}}</ref>
<ref name="Li & Hou 2016">{{cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Z.J. |last2=Hou |first2=C.L. |year=2016 |title=A new ''Stictis'' species from China based on morphological and molecular data |journal=Phytotaxa |volume=286 |issue=3 |pages=186–192 |doi=10.11646/phytotaxa.286.3.6}}</ref>
<ref name="Persoon 1800">{{cite book |last=Persoon |first=C.H. |year=1800 |title=Observationes mycologicae |volume=2 |page=73 |language=la |location=Leipzig |publisher=Peter Philip Wolf |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/46014302}}</ref>
<ref name="Seaver & Waterston 1941">{{cite journal |last1=Seaver |first1=F.J. |last2=Waterston |first2=J.M. |year=1941 |title=Contributions to the mycoflora of Bermuda – II |journal=Mycologia |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=310–317 |jstor=3754766 |doi=10.2307/3754766}}</ref>
<ref name="Species Fungorum synonymy">{{cite web |title=''Conotrema'' Tuck., Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. 1: 278 (1848)
|url=https://www.indexfungorum.org/names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=1222 |publisher=Species Fungorum |access-date=6 April 2026}}</ref>
<ref name="Taylor et al. 2001">{{cite journal |last1=Taylor |first1=Joanne E. |last2=Crous |first2=Pedro W. |last3=Palm |first3=Mary E. |year=2001 |title=Foliar and stem fungal pathogens of Proteaceae in Hawaii |journal=Mycotaxon |volume=78 |pages=449–490 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/64500144}}</ref>
<ref name="Wedin et al. 2004">{{cite journal |last1=Wedin |first1=Mats |last2=Döring |first2=Heidi |last3=Gilenstam |first3=Gunnar |title=Saprotrophy and lichenization as options for the same fungal species on different substrata: environmental plasticity and fungal lifestyles in the ''Stictis–Conotrema'' complex |journal=New Phytologist |year=2004 |volume=164 |issue=3 |pages=459–465 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-8137.2004.01198.x}}</ref>
<ref name="Wedin et al. 2006">{{cite journal |last1=Wedin |first1=Mats |first2=Döring |last2=Heidi |first3=Gilenstam |last3=Gunnar |year=2006 |title=''Stictis'' s. lat. (Ostropales, Ascomycota) in northern Scandinavia, with a key and notes on morphological variation in relation to lifestyle |journal=Mycological Research |volume=110 |issue=7 |pages=773–789 |doi=10.1016/j.mycres.2006.04.010 |pmid=16876698}}</ref>
<ref name="Wijayawardene et al. 2022">{{cite journal |display-authors=6 |last1=Wijayawardene |first1=N.N. |last2=Hyde |first2=K.D. |last3=Dai |first3=D.Q. |last4=Sánchez-García |first4=M. |last5=Goto |first5=B.T. |last6=Saxena |first6=R.K. |last7=Erdoğdu |first7=M. |last8=Selçuk |first8=F. |last9=Rajeshkumar |first9=K.C. |last10=Aptroot |first10=A. |last11=Błaszkowski |first11=J. |last12=Boonyuen |first12=N. |last13=da Silva |first13=G. |last14=de Souza |first14=F.A. |last15=Dong |first15=W. |last16=Ertz |first16=D. |last17=Haelewaters |first17=D. |last18=Jones |first18=E.B. |last19=Karunarathna |first19=S.C. |last20=Kirk |first20=P.M. |last21=Kukwa |first21=M. |last22=Kumla |first22=J. |last23=Leontyev |first23=D.V. |last24=Lumbsch |first24=H.T. |last25=Maharachchikumbura |first25=S.S.N. |last26=Marguno |first26=F. |last27=Martínez-Rodríguez |first27=P. |last28=Mešić |first28=A. |last29=Monteiro |first29=J.S. |last30=Oehl |first30=F. |last31=Pawłowska |first31=J. |last32=Pem |first32=D. |last33=Pfliegler |first33=W.P. |last34=Phillips |first34=A.J.L. |last35=Pošta |first35=A. |last36=He |first36=M.Q. |last37=Li |first37=J.X. |last38=Raza |first38=M. |last39=Sruthi |first39=O.P. |last40=Suetrong |first40=S. |last41=Suwannarach |first41=N. |last42=Tedersoo |first42=L. |last43=Thiyagaraja |first43=V. |last44=Tibpromma |first44=S. |last45=Tkalčec |first45=Z. |last46=Tokarev |first46=Y.S. |last47=Wanasinghe |first47=D.N. |last48=Wijesundara |first48=D.S.A. |last49=Wimalaseana |first49=S.D.M.K. |last50=Madrid |first50=H. |last51=Zhang |first51=G.Q. |last52=Gao |first52=Y. |last53=Sánchez-Castro |first53=I. |last54=Tang |first54=L.Z. |last55=Stadler |first55=M. |last56=Yurkov |first56=A. |last57=Thines |first57=M. |year=2022 |title=Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa – 2021 |journal=Mycosphere |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=53–453 |doi=10.5943/mycosphere/13/1/2 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358798332 |doi-access=free |hdl=10481/76378 |hdl-access=free}}</ref>
</references>
{{Taxonbar|from=Q112820from2=Q49431066
}}
Category:Ostropales Category:Lichen genera Category:Ostropales genera Category:Taxa named by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon Category:Taxa described in 1800