Class Sordariomycetes O.E. Erikss. & Winka

These fungi are also known as pyrenomycetes (= fire-fungi) and perithecial ascomycetes. A perithecium (= surrounding-case) is a flask-like container for the asci and spore production. Many of these fungi have the perithecia embedded in a black stroma (= bed covering). Apparently the appearance of these small black lumps relates to the genus name Sordaria, for which Tom Volk says: Sord means 'dirt' (like sordid) and aria means 'that which is.' The class contains 3 subclasses and 18 orders. Classification follows Lumbsch and Huhndorf (2010) [now out of date].

1. Subclass Hypocreomycetidae
   • Coronophorales (5 families)
   • Hypocreales (7 families)
   • Melanosporales (1 family)
   • Microascales (3 families)
   • Uncertain placement (2 families and 7 genera)
2. Subclass Sordariomycetidae
   • Boliniales (1 family)
   • Calosphaeriales (2 families)
   • Chaetosphaeriales (1 family)
   • Coniochaetales (1 family)
   • Diaporthales (10 families)
   • Magnaporthales (1 family)
   • Ophiostomatales (2 families)
   • Sordariales (3 families)
   • Uncertain placement (4 families and many genera)
3. Subclass Xylariomycetidae
   • Xylariales (6 families)
   • Uncertain placement (9 genera)
4. Sordariomycetes, orders with uncertain placement
   • Koralionastetales (1 family)
   • Lulworthiales (2 families)
   • Meliolales (2 families)
   • Phyllachorales (2 families)
   • Trichosphaeriales (1 family)
   • Uncertain placement (4 families and many genera)