xm, c, 4 Brown: Fungi Cultivated by Termites 225 



any similar fungus in termite nests in Australia or America, but in all 

 the countries in which the fungus on the termite comb has been carefully 

 examined the species is the same, as far as can be determined from a 

 conidial form only. 



In discussing the connection of these spheres with higher fungi 

 occurring on termite combs Petch 8 says: 



It has been the aim of all mycologists who have studied the subject to 

 establish a connection between the conidial fungus, (Aegerita Duthei) 

 and one of the other termite fungi, but so far all these attempts have 

 proved fruitless. 



THE XYLARIA 



When the combs from the vicinity of Manila or Los Banos 

 were removed from the nests and placed in covered battery 

 jars, a sterile form of what appeared to be a Xylaria always 

 grew from them. These growths had a white core surrounded 

 by a dense black layer which was tomentose with white to black 

 hyphae. Branched specimens were rare except in cases where 

 the developing fungus had come in contact with a solid object. 

 The growths showed two very distinct types between which there 

 were all degrees of intergradation. The largest (Plate IV, fig. 

 3) had a rudimentary stalk above which there was an oval 

 shaped portion which usually tapered into a long whiplike 

 extremity. The two largest specimens of this type were re- 

 spectively 2.5 and 1 cm in diameter in the widest portion and 

 52 and 99 cm in length. The other extreme type (Plate IV, 

 fig. 2) was a threadlike form averaging about 2 mm in diameter 

 and 30 cm in length. The longest was 3 mm in its greatest 

 diameter and 152 cm in length. Others were less than 1 cm 

 long. The production of these two types seemed to be in- 

 fluenced by the age of the combs, the smaller type appearing 

 in general on the oldest combs. The smallest specimens of the 

 smaller type were produced under very dry conditions. A va- 

 riety of these sterile forms is shown in Plate IV, fig. 3 while 

 Plate IV, fig. 2 represents a cone bearing a large number of 

 the smaller type. 



The Xylaiia-hke growths do not seem to come from the 

 conidial spheres on the combs as after the combs are removed 

 from the nests the spheres turn brown and disappear in a few 

 days. On the second day after the combs are placed in the 

 battery jars they become covered by a very sparse growth of 

 white mycelium, which comes out from the substance of the 

 comb and not from the spherical bodies. On the third day 



* Petch, T., op. cit. 



