Cainiaceae J.C. Krug, Sydowia 30 (1–6):123 (1978)
MycoBank number: MB 80542; Index Fungorum number: IF 80542; Facesoffungi number: FoF 00687; 50 species.
Saprobic on dead grasses, bamboo and other monocotyledons and fabaceous dicotyledons, appearing as shiny black dots, slightly effuse from the substrate, or pathogenic. Sexual morph: Pseudostromata poorly developed or lacking, or sometimes clypeate, scattered, superficial, dome- shaped or slightly effuse, dark brown to black. Ascomata immersed, solitary or aggregated, globose to subglobose, coriaceous, brown, ostiolate. Ostiolar papilla short, internally lined with hyaline periphyses. Peridium one or two-layered, outer layer comprising thick-walled, brown cells of textura angularis and inner layer comprising hyaline thin-walled cells of textura angularis. Paraphyses abundant, filamentous, slightly constricted at the septa. Asci 8-spored, unitunicate, cylindrical to broadly cylindrical, short pedicellate, with a complex, J+, cylindrical apical ring or series of rings. Ascospores uniseriate, overlapping uniseriate to biseriate, hyaline when young and dark brown at maturity, sphaerical to ellipsoidal, unicellular to 1-septate, slightly constricted at the septum, wall ornamented with longitudinal germ slits or germ pores, surrounded by a gelatinous sheath. Asexual morph: Coelomycetous. Conidiomata pycnidial, scattered, immersed, globose to subglobose, black. Conidiophores hyaline, denticulate, sympodially proliferating. Conidiogenous cells with 1–3 phialides, filiform, branched or simple, septate, hyaline. Conidia elongate fusiform, falcate to lunate, unicellular or septate, hyaline, with pointed ends (adapted from Maharachchimbura et al. 2016b).
Type genus – Cainia Arx & E. Müll.
Notes – Cainiaceae was introduced by Krug (1978) to accommodate species of Cainia with unique apical rings in the asci, consisting of a series of rings, and ascospores with longitudinal germ slits. Kang et al. (1999b) revived Cainiaceae and included the genera Arecophila, Atrotorquata, Cainia, Ceriophora, Reticulosphaeria and Ommatomyces. The phylogenetic study conducted by Jeewon et al. (2003b) provides molecular evidence to support the generic status of Arecophila in Cainiaceae. Seynesia was included in the family based on phylogenetic analyses (Maharachchikumbura et al. 2015). Several phylogenetic and morphological studies accepted Amphibambusa, Arecophila, Atrotorquata, Cainia and Seynesia in this family (Smith et al. 2003, Maharachchikumbura et al. 2015, 2016b, Liu et al. 2015, Senanayake et al. 2015, Wijayawardene et al. 2017a). Maharachchikumbura et al. (2015, 2016b), Senanayake et al. (2015) and Jaklitsch et al. (2016b) placed the family within the Xylariales Hongsanan et al. (2017) provided divergence estimates and referred the family to Xylariomycetidae family incertae sedis. We introduce a new monotypic genus Alishanica with the type A. miscanthii collected from Taiwan.