Boliniaceae Rick, Brotéria, sér. bot. 25: 65 (1931)
MycoBank number: MB 80526; Index Fungorum number: IF 80526; Facesoffungi number: FoF 01129; 46 species.
Saprobic on decorticated decaying wood, occasionally hypersaprobic on polypores, in terrestrial habitats. Sexual morph: Stroma absent or present, immersed to superficial, often erumpent, clypeate to irregular in shape, light brown to black, coriaceous, membranaceous or powdered or furfuraceous, with or without brown, septate interwoven hyphae, if present surrounding the apex of the ascomata. Ascomata perithecial, solitary to gregarious, immersed within the stromata, monostichous or polystichous or erumpent to superficial, brown to black, globose, cylindrical to obpyriform, coriaceous or membranaceous, smooth, with or without papilla, occasionally of stellate appearance. Ostiole periphysate. Peridium two-layered, outer layer composed of brown, thick-walled cells of textura angularis or textura intricata; inner layer composed of hyaline, thin-walled cells of textura prismatica. Paraphyses abundant, persistent, filamentous, tapering, septate, branched. Asci 8-spored, unitunicate, cylindrical to clavate, long pedicellate, some with an apical ring. Ascospores 2–3-seriate, hyaline or brown, with an inconspicuous apical germ pore at one or both ends that may be covered by an indistinct hyaline cap, ellipsoid to cylindrical, straight to slightly curved to suballantoid, sometimes laterally flattened, aseptate or septate, smooth-walled, mostly with guttules. Asexual morph: Undetermined (adapted from Maharachchimbura et al. 2016b).
Type genus – Camarops P. Karst.
Notes – Boliniaceae was introduced by Rick (1931) based on black stroma and cylindrical asci with smooth-walled ascospores, and is typified by Camarops (Karsten 1873). Earlier, this family was placed in Xylariales based on its morphological similarities (Barr 1990b, Romero & Samuels 1991). Andersson et al. (1995) concluded that Boliniaceae was more closely related to Sordariales based on SSU sequence data. This family was subsequently placed in Boliniales by Kirk et al. (2001). Based on phylogenetic and morphological data, six genera were accepted in Boliniaceae (Lumbsch & Huhndorf 2010). Untereiner et al. (2013) added Apiorhynchostoma and Pseudovalsaria based on LSU rDNA sequence data. A key to Boliniaceae genera was given in Untereiner et al. (2013).