PLECTOMYCETES

name often given fungi constituting a series of the class Ascomycetes (sac fungi) within the division Mycota. Its more than 2,500 species produce saclike structures (asci) containing ascospores in either a closed fruiting body (ascocarp) or spore balls. Economically important genera include Ceratocystis, which includes the agents of Dutch elm disease and oak wilt, and Trichophyton, species of which cause skin disease in animals including man.