Fungalpedia – Note 1134, Cainia
Cainia. Arx & E. Müll., Acta bot. neerl. 4(1): 111 (1955).
Citation when using this data: Hyde KD et al. 2020 – Fungalpedia, Ascomycota.
Xylariomycetidae, Xylariales, Cainiaceae, Cainia
Index Fungorum number: IF 719; Facesoffungi number: FoF 00688; 5 morphological species (Species Fungorum 2020); 4 species with sequence data.
Pathogenic or saprobic on Poaceae and Cyperaceae, forming leaf or stem spots, appearing as black, shiny, scattered dots on host surface. Sexual morph: Pseudoclypeus dark brown to black, unclear, scattered, dome-shaped, effuse, smooth, each containing one, or rarely several ascomata. Ascomata immersed, scattered, solitary or grouped, ampulliform, coriaceous, ostiolate. Ostioles short, internally lined with hyaline, filamentous periphyses. Peridium comprising an outer layer of thick-walled, brown, textura angularis cells and inner layer comprising of thick-walled, hyaline, textura angularis cells. Hamathecium containing numerous, septate paraphyses, slightly constricted at the septa, Asci 8-spored, unitunicate, cylindrical to clavate, short pedicellate, apex rounded, with a complex, J+, dome-shaped to cylindrical series of rings. Ascospores dark brown, overlapping uniseriate to biseriate, ellipsoidal, 1- septate, constricted at the septum, wall with longitudinal patterns, surrounded by a gelatinous sheath. Asexual morph: Coelomycetous. Conidiomata black, pycnidia, scattered, immersed, globose to subglobose. Conidiophores hyaline, denticulate. Conidiogenous cells with 1–3 phialides, filiform, simple or branched, septate, hyaline. Conidia elongate-fusiform to filiform, falcate to lunate, with holoblastic conidiogenesis, hyaline, unicellular or septate, sometimes with pointed ends (adapted from Maharachchikumbura et al. 2016).
Type species: Cainia graminis (Niessl) Arx & E. Müll., Acta bot. neerl. 4(1): 112 (1955)
Notes: The genus was placed in a distinct family because of its longitudinal germ slits in the ascospores and the complex ascus ring comprising a series of rings (Krug 1978). Senanayake et al. (2015) designated a reference specimen for the type Cainia graminis and provided phylogenetic placement to accommodate genera in Cainiaceae.
References
Krug JC. 1978 – The genus Cainia and a new family, Cainiaceae. Sydowia 30, 122–133
Maharachchikumbura SSN, Hyde KD, Jones EBG, McKenzie EHC et al. 2016 – Families of Sordariomycetes. Fungal Diversity 79, 1–317
Published online 24 November 2025