Type: Paecilomyces¬_sinensis Q.T. Chen et al. Etymology: Pleuro- (Gk), lateral, in a sideways position; referring to the fertile part with perithecia formed laterally on stromata of the cordycepitoid sexual morph. Description: Sexual morph: Stromata singular to numerous, simple, fleshy, cylindrical, reddish brown, growing upwards from the head or irregularly in various directions from the whole body of the host; simple or branched. Stipes cylindrical, tip pointed, perithecia forming laterally pad on the stipe and often toward the apical parts of the stroma, subterminal, sometimes appearing terminal when mature, sterile tip curved or twisted, some missing when mature. Perithecia pyriform and/or ovoid, with protruding ostioles, immersed when young, emerged and separate when mature. Asci cylindrical, wall thickened at the apex. Ascospores hyaline, filiform, cylindrical, fragmenting to form small truncate, bacilliform part-spores. Asexual morph: Colonies growing relatively well in culture. Synnemata solitary to caespitose or crowded, unbranched or rarely branched, arising from an insect corpse, other fungus stroma, or in culture; stipes of the synnemata tomentose, clavate or spatulate or/and cylindrical, a viscous spore mass produced mostly on the terminal portions of the synnemata, rarely in the median part of the synnemata and then surrounding the stipe; some species produce unformed, scab-like aggregate conidial structure on the tawny stipe. Conidiogenous cells phialides, of two types; α-phialides verticillate and acropleurogenous on conidiophores, cylindrical to subulate at the base or occurring directly on the aerial hyphae; β-phialides acropleurogenous and solitary on the hyphae, narrow lageniform or subulate, tapering abruptly from the base to the apex. Conidia one-celled, hyaline and smooth-walled, of two types in culture; α-conidia globose to subglobose or ellipsoidal, in viscous pools located on the colony in culture and at the terminal portion or occasionally in the middle of the stipe of synnemata forming a conidial mass; β-conidia fusiform, produced along stipe of the synnemata as well as on the mycelium surface of the colony, single or often in chains on phialides. Host: Entomogenous and/or fungicolous.

Reference: Wang YH, Ban S, Wang WJ, et al. (2021). Pleurocordyceps gen. nov. for a clade of fungi previously included in Polycephalomyces based on molecular phylogeny and morphology. Journal of Systematics and Evolution. 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1111/jse.12705