Bombardiaceae S.K. Huang, Maharachch. & K.D. Hyde, Fungal Diversity: 10.1007/s13225-021-00488-4, [49] (2021)

Index Fungorum number: IF 558344; MycoBank number: MB 558344; Facesoffungi number: FoF 10141.

Etymology – Named after Bombardia, the oldest genus in this family.

Coprophilous or saprobic on wood or isolated from soil. Sexual morph: Ascomata perithecial or cleistothecial, solitary to scattered or gregarious, immersed to semi-immersed to superficial, globose to subglobose, glabrous or hairy, yellow to dark brown to black, sometimes semitransparent, membranaceous or coriaceous. Paraphyses numerous, filiform to cylindrical, septate, evanescent. Asci 4–8-spored, unitunicate, cylindrical to clavate, pedicellate, usually with J- apical ring, sometimes with apical globule. Ascospores uni-seriate or bi-seriate, ellipsoidal or cylindrical or maraca-shaped, aseptate to multi-septate, hyaline to brown to dark brown, verrucose or smooth-walled, sometimes with a gelatinous sheath or irregular appendage(s). Asexual morph: Hyphomycetous. Conidiophores arising from aerial hyphae, erect, inflated at the base. Phialides monophialidic, smooth-walled, hyaline, cylindrical, unbranched or branched. Conidia small, hyaline to pale yellow, ellipsoidal to oval, aseptate, smooth-walled, forming globose masses on the apex of the phialides (adapted from Malloch and Cain 1971; Lundqvist 1964a, b, 1972; Udagawa and Furuya 1974; Khan and Krug 1991; Krug and Scott 1994; Bell 2005; Davison et al. 2008).

Type genus – Bombardia (Fr.) P. Karst. 1873

Notes – Marin-Felix et al. (2020) mentioned that Apodos- pora, Bombardia, Bombardioidea, Fimetariella and several species of Cercophora, Podospora and Zopfiella formed a low support clade. In this study, these taxa clustered (75%ML) and is sister to Sordariaceae (74%ML, Fig. 26).

The species of this cluster have diverse morphological characteristics. Most of them are coprophilous fungi, except for Zopfiella attenuata and Ramophialophora vesiculosa collected from soil and, Bombardia bombarda found on hard- wood (Lundqvist 1972; Udagawa and Furuya 1974). They have hairy or glabrous, membranaceous (sometimes with carbonaceous neck), or coriaceous ascomata (Malloch and Cain 1971; Lundqvist 1972; Udagawa and Furuya 1974; Khan and Krug 1991; Krug and Scott 1994; Bell 2005; Davison et al. 2008). The hyphomycetous R. vesiculosa has globose to ellipsoidal conidia with a truncate base (Calduch et al. 2004). Zopfiella attenuata and Z. pleuropora have cleistothecial ascomata and ascospores comprise fusiform to ellipsoidal, brown upper cell(s) and a conical hyaline lower cell, without appendages or a sheath (Malloch and Cain 1971; Udagawa and Furuya 1974); the other members have perithecial ascomata and ascospores have appendages or surround the gelatinous sheath (Lundqvist 1964a, b, 1972; Khan and Krug 1991; Krug and Scott 1994; Krug 1995; Bell 2005; Davison et al. 2008). Apodospora peruviana, A. simulans, A. gotlandica, Bombardioidea anartia and Fimeteriella rabenhorstii have broadly fusiform to ellipsoidal ascospores surrounded by a gelatinous sheath (Lundqvist 1964a, b, 1972; Krug and Scott 1994; Krug 1995; Davison et al. 2008). All Apodospora species have a gelatinous sheath with an apical invagination (Lundqvist 1972; Krug and Scott 1994; Krug 1995; Davison et al. 2008). Fimeteriella rabenhorstii is the only species in the cluster with 4-spored asci (Lundqvist 1964a, b; Krug 1995). Bombardioidea anartia and Podospora appendiculata have a special coriaceous peridium similar to Bombardia bombarda (Lundqvist 1972; Krug and Scott 1994). Whereas, Bombardia bombardia, Cercophora scortea, Podospora fabiformis, P. fibrinocaudata and P. appendiculata have ascospores comprising an ellipsoidal, brown upper cell and a cylindrical, hyaline pedicel, with terminal appendage(s) at each or one end (Lundqvist 1972; Khan and Krug 1991; Bell 2005). Podospora fabiformis has ascospores with apical and basal appendages, sometimes two lateral appendages arising from the top of the pedicel (Bell 2005). Podospora fibrinocaudata has ascospores with a gelatinous sheath surrounding the pedicel’s basal (Khan and Krug 1991). Bombardia bombarda, Cercophora scortea and Podospora appendiculata have cylindrical to clavate asci with a subapical or apical globule and ascospores with appendages at each end (Lundqvist 1972).