Typhuloid fungi are a very poorly known group of tiny clavarioid homobasidiomycetes. The phylogenetic position and family classification of the genera targeted here,
Ceratellopsis
,
Macrotyphula
,
Pterula sensu lato
and
Typhula
, are controversial and based on unresolved phylogenies. Our six-gene phylogeny with an expanded taxon sampling shows that typhuloid fungi evolved at least twice in the
Agaricales
(
Pleurotineae
,
Clavariineae
) and once in the
Hymenochaetales
.
Macrotyphula
,
Pterulicium
and
Typhula
are nested within the
Pleurotineae
. The type of
Typhula
(1818) and
Sclerotium
(1790),
T. phacorrhiza
and
S. complanatum
(synonym
T. phacorrhiza
), are encompassed in the
Macrotyphula
clade that is distantly related to a monophyletic group formed by species usually assigned to
Typhula
. Thus, the correct name for
Macrotyphula
(1972) and
Typhula
is
Sclerotium
and all
Typhula
species but those in the
T. phacorrhiza
group need to be transferred to
Pistillaria
(1821). To avoid undesirable nomenclatural changes, we suggest to conserve
Typhula
with
T. incarnata
as type.
Clavariaceae
is supported as a separate, early diverging lineage within
Agaricales
, with
Hygrophoraceae
as a successive sister taxon to the rest of the
Agaricales
.
Ceratellopsis s. auct.
is polyphyletic because
C. acuminata
nests in
Clavariaceae
and
C. sagittiformis
in the
Hymenochaetales
.
Ceratellopsis
is found to be an earlier name for
Pterulicium
, because the type,
C. queletii
, represents
Pterulicium gracile
(synonym
Pterula gracilis
), deeply nested in the
Pterulicium
clade. To avoid re-combining a large number of names in
Ceratellopsis
we suggest to conserve it with
C. acuminata
as type. The new genus
Bryopistillaria
is created to include
C. sagittiformis
. The families
Sarcomyxaceae
and
Phyllotopsidaceae
, and the suborder
Clavariineae
, are described as new. Six new combinations are proposed and 15 names typified.