ce 
cai alia ection Sai 
™= os "¢ ype e 
APOE LER NERS 5 RIVE NT God Rae yee eg ME ey RR eae eee ae 
PEE Sa hghv OSES WE AE eID ena 7 . anata ae 
ae : ‘ 
64 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN. 
sects feed on the conidial stage of Ceratostomedla, especially 
one or more species of ambrosia beetles and a number of 
mites infesting their channels in the wood; but proof is 
yet lacking on this point. The constant occurrence of this 
fungus in the channels of a number of wood boring beetles 
indieates that the conidia or the ascospores must be carried 
in some manner by these insects. Hopkins* describes 
some of these beetles in a bulletin of the U. S. Department 
of Agriculture, and von Schrenkf describes how C. pilifera 
follows the channels of wood-boring beetles in Pinus 
ponderosa. The writer has made similar observations on 
Ceratosmella in its penetration of Pinus ponderosa, P. 
Arizonica, P. echinata and P. Virginiana. 
Although the genus Ceratostoma is very closely related 
to Ceratostomella none of the species of Ceratostoma have 
been found in connection with the blue stain of wood. In 
the course of the present investigation stained wood has 
been collected from a large number of localities, including 
wood from trees and shrubs of the following genera: Abies, 
Acer, Fagus, Fraxinus, Liquidambar, Liriodendron, 
Pinus, Rubus, Ulmus, Vitis and Wistaria. A number of 
species and varieties of Ceratostomella have been identified, 
cultivated and proved to be wood-bluing fungi. Ceratos- 
tomella pilifera has been found far more prevalent than 
other species. As the conidial stage of this species was 
first discovered by the writer and the description has never 
been published, it will now be given. It is taken fromthe 
results obtained from a very large number of pure cultures 
grown and studied over a period of nearly four years. 
Ceratostomella pilifera (Fr.) Wint. 
This fungus has been isolated in cultures taken from 
stained wood from a number of species of Pinus taken 
from nearly every region of the United States. It pene- 
* Hopkins, A. D. Bull. Div. Ent. U. S; Dept. Agr. 32: 9, 10. 
+ Von Schrenk, H. J. ¢. : 
