[1][2][3] A member of the division Ascomycota, P. appendiculata is characterized by ovoid, hair-studded perithecia which can bear a distinctive violaceous colouring and peridia which are coriaceous, or leathery, in texture.

[6] Auerswald sent a sample in a letter to Gustav Niessl von Mayendorf, who published a description of the species under the name Sordaria appendiculata in 1872 before reclassifying it under the genus Podospora in 1883.

[7] Winter's assessment was supported by George Edward Massee and Ernest Stanley Salmon, but, upon closer examination in 1934, the Canadian mycologist R. F. Cain agreed with Niessl and set Podospora appendiculata apart as its own species.

[4] The fungus grows widely in temperate to warm climates, and has been identified naturally in New Zealand, Israel, Japan, Brazil, and in areas throughout North America and Europe.

Analysis of 137 global dung samples recovered from nations such as England, Scotland, Yugoslavia and New Zealand revealed a statistically significant negative association between the incidence of P. appendiculata and the occurrence of Ascobolus immersus, Lasiobolus ciliatus, and Podospora curvula.

[11] Ascospores all have incredibly sticky, gelatinous, tail-like appendages called caudae,[1] a pedicel that is cylindrical to conical in shape,[7] and a singular germ pore through which future germination will occur.

[5] Appenolides A, B, and C display microbicidal activity against a variety of fungi, with 150 micrograms of each compound enough to produce 12-14  millimeter zones of inhibition against Candida albicans in standard disc assays.

[14][15] Quorum sensing, a process which allows for differential gene expression in response to changes in cell density, can trigger bacterial biofilm formation when bacteria are present in sufficiently high concentrations.

[15] Biofilm formation in turn drives resistance to a range of environmental and biological stressors, including antibiotics and human immune responses, and the 2(5H)-furanone-mediated disruption of quorum sensing has been shown to negatively impact the growth rate of Campylobacter jejuni, a clinically significant food-borne pathogen.