Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 1, 2026

Byssochlamys

Byssochlamys is a former genus of fungi in the Trichocomaceae family, containing teleomorph forms of Paecilomyces. Several species of the genus Byssochlamys were well known to be associated with food spoilage, especially acidic heat-processed foods. A health concern was the production of the mycotoxin patulin in fruit juices, as well as byssochlamic acid and mycophenolic acid.

Last revised
Jul 1, 2026
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Byssochlamys
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Eurotiomycetes
Order: Eurotiales
Family: Thermoascaceae
Genus: Byssochlamys
Westling (1909)
Type species
Byssochlamys nivea
Westling (1909)

Byssochlamys is a former genus of fungi in the Trichocomaceae family, containing teleomorph forms of Paecilomyces. Several species of the genus Byssochlamys were well known to be associated with food spoilage,1 especially acidic heat-processed foods.2 A health concern was the production of the mycotoxin patulin in fruit juices, as well as byssochlamic acid and mycophenolic acid.2

Taxonomy

First described by Swedish botanist Richard Westling in 1909,3 it contained teleomorph forms of the genus Paecilomyces, traditionally covering anamorphic forms. With the adaptation of the "one fungus : one name" rule, Byssochlamys is considered a synonym of Paecilomyces.

The database Mycobank lists 9 legitimate species names, most of which are now considered to belong in the genus Paecilomyces.

  • Byssochlamys musticola and Byssochlamys zollerniae are currently not assigned an updated taxonomy.
References

References

  1. Kirk PM, Cannon PF, Minter DW, Stalpers JA (2008). Dictionary of the Fungi (10th ed.). Wallingford, UK: CAB International. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-85199-826-8.
  2. Pitt JI, Hocking AD (2009). Fungi and Food Spoilage. Springer. pp. 170, 175. ISBN 978-0-387-92206-5.
  3. Westling R. (1909). "Byssochlamys nivea, en foreningslank mellam familjerna Gymnoascaceae och Endomycetaceae". Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift (in Swedish). 3: 125–37.