266 A MANUAL OF THE PENICILLIA 



originally from soil at Tela, Honduras. This culture was subsequently 

 cited by Shear (1934) as one of the types for his Carpentdes asperum. 

 The species is also represented by additional strains as follows: NRRL 

 2088, isolated in October 1945, from a sample of soil sent to us from Cocoa 

 River, Nicaragua, by Dr. A. G. Kevorkian; NRRL 2089, isolated in De- 

 cember 1945, from a sample of soil sent to us by Dr. O. G. Lima, Recife, 

 Brazil; and NRRL 714, received originally from Shear as his No. R2, one 

 of the type strains of his Carpenteles asperum. This last strain has almost 

 completely lost the capacity to produce sclerotioid masses (perithecia?) 

 during the fifteen years that we have maintained it in artificial culture, 

 but conidial structures of the type described above are abundantly pro- 

 duced. We can assume that the original strongly perithecial strain has 

 been supplanted by a variant that is predominantly conidial. 



In Penicillium asperum the sclerotioid masses which subsequently de- 

 velop as perithecia are unusually hard. They ripen late in all strains, 

 and during the first three or four weeks, closely resemble the true sclerotia 

 of such forms as P. thomii Maire and P. raistrickii Smith in general tex- 

 ture and firmness. In some strains and upon certain media, asci and 

 ascospores may appear within four weeks. Upon other media, ripening 

 of the perithecia in the same strains may be much delayed. Different 

 strains also vary in regard to ascospore development. No asci or asco- 

 spores have been observed after intervals up to three months in one cul- 

 ture appearing otherwise typical. The process of maturation is essentially 

 like that described by Dodge (1933) for P. hrejeldianum,. Ripening is 

 from the center outward and an expanding core of fertile hyphae seems to 

 gradually digest the sclerotioid mass. When this process has progressed 

 throughout approximately half the diameter of the body, asci usually 

 begin to appear. Unlike those of P. haarnense and P. egyptiacum, these 

 are apparently borne singly on short lateral branches. The asci are 8- 

 spored and the ascospores apparently develop in the usual manner. There 

 is evidence of the development of a fertile, hyphal network, or "skein"^ 

 as reported by van Beyma in the description of P. javanicum (1929), but 

 this is not so pronounced as in some species such as P. haarnense. 



Penicillium haarnense van Beyma, in Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 6: 



270-273, figs. 5 and 6. 1939/1940. 

 Synonym: Penicillium. {Carpenteles) haarnense van Beyma, ihid. 



Colonies on Czapek's solution agar growing rather restrictedly, attain- 

 ing a diameter of 2.5 to 3.0 cm. in 12 to 14 days at room temperature, 

 comparatively thin, with central area more or less wrinkled and furrowed 

 and outer zone 2 to 3 mm. wide, plane (fig. 71 A), surface appearing slightly 

 flocculent, at first white but developing light buff shades in about 2 weeks 



