The ascocarps (_apothecia_) are at first closed, and _only open_ at
the time of their ripening, not valvularly, but more or less like a
_saucer_ or _cup_, so that the hymenium lies exposed on their upper
surface. In the first three sub-families, and generally also in the
fourth, the apothecia are formed inside the substratum. The apothecia
are, in contrast to the Pyrenomycetes, light and brightly coloured,
and their size varies very much, and may be several centimetres in
diameter. Paraphyses are often present between the asci; they often
contain colouring matter, and give to the disc its characteristic
colour. The tissue on which the asci are borne is known as the
_hypothecium_. The shape and colour of the spores is not so varied as
in the Pyrenomycetes. The accessory forms of reproduction are conidia
(sometimes of two forms), chlamydospores, and oidia. The family is
divided into 5 sub-families.