Rhytismatales of Australasia

The Rhytismatales are both genetically and biologically diverse in Australa sia. Although taxonomically one of the better known groups of ascomycetes f rom the region, almost all knowledge on the group is confined to species fr om south-eastern Australia and New Zealand. The indigenous Australasian spe cies show two distinct patterns of geographic relationship-one group compri ses species with a broad tropical distribution, the other comprises species that have close relatives on phylogenetically related hosts in other parts of the temperate Southern Hemisphere. While the widespread tropical specie s have a broad host range, the others tend to be specialised toward a singl e host. Further research required includes alpha-taxonomic studies from oth er parts of Australasia, study of the biological roles these fungi play in Australasian forests and molecular studies on the origin of the genetic div ersity of the order in this region.