MONILIALES y^ 



sporitini which affect a large number of cultivated plants. Here 

 also are to be found the causes of various diseases known as scab. 

 Among these are the black blotches on apples and pears due to 

 species of Fiisicladiitni ; the scab of potatoes and beets caused by 

 Oospora scabies ; the scab of the fig caused by a Fusariitm ; and 

 the leaf blights of the plum, peach, cherry, tomato and spinach 

 caused by species of Cladosporiuin. To the same order also be- 

 longs the very destructive rot of plums and peaches which prob- 

 ably causes as much loss to fruit growers as all other diseases of 

 these fruits combined. This is caused by Monilia friictigcna 



{PI. 5./. 9)- 



The order is made up of four families which may be distin- 

 guished as follows : 



1. Ilyphae more or less floccose or mould-like. 2. 

 Hyphae closely united into an elongate, columnar fascicle. Stilbaceae. 

 Hyphae closely conglutinate in a tubercular mass. Tuberculariaceae. 



2. Pale or light colored, often quickly collapsing. Moniliaceae. 

 Fuscous or black, usually rather rigid. Dematiaceae. 



Among the many genera of the Moniliaceae,* Ramtilaria 

 with ovate-cylindric conidia is probably the largest genus, in which 

 over one hundred species have been described ; they are mainly 

 parasitic on leaves (/Y. j. /. //). The genera containing 

 species parasitic on leaves may be distinguished as follows : 



1. Spores varying from spherical to short cylindric, one-celled, hyaline. 2. 

 Spores 2-celled, hyaline or light colored. 5. 

 Spores 3-many-celled, hyaline or light colored. 6. 



2. Hyphae very short, its cells scarcely distinct from the conidia. 3. 

 Hyphae elongate, distinct from the smooth conidia. 4. 



3. Conidia borne in heads. (Parasite on Comics Canadensis.^ 



Glomerularia. 



Conidia in chains, lemon shaped, very large; hyphae branching (often 



saprophytic). MONILIA. 



Conidia in chains, ellipsoid, flattened at base, OiDiUM. 



4. Conidia globose or ovoid, on ascending fertile branches (mostly sapro- 



phytic). BOTRYTIS. 



Conidia on suberect branches which are denticulate above. OvuLARiA. 



*This family called by Saccardo the Mucedineae from their resemblance 

 to the true phycomycelous moulds ^Mitcor juucedo, et. al.) is given the 

 above name in accordance with the principle stated on p. 19, and as fol- 

 lowed in the Zythiaceae (note, p. 71). 



