ASYMMETRICA-FASCICULATA 491 



orange-brown to maroon shades, and in some strains appear definitely 



purplish. 

 Conidiophores are commonly roughened when borne on Czapek's solution 



agar and are consistently roughened when produced on malt extract agar. 

 Penicilli are comparativel}" large, and each usually shows one or two 



branches that are commonly appressed and which, together with the 



main axis, bear verticils of metulae and sterigmata to produce a rather 



loose and often somewhat irregular conidial apparatus. 

 Strong odors, which may be described as moldy or earthy, are regularly 



produced upon most culture media. 



Series Key 



b. Colonies typically in blue-green (aeruginous) shades, with the blue element pre- 

 dominant or at least usually clearly evident; conidiophores smooth or rough - 



walled P. cyclopium series 



1'. Colonies in dull blue-green shades mostly azonate or indistinctly zonate; 

 conidiophores on Czapek agar generally roughened; conidia usually sub- 

 globose, 

 aa. Colonies with surface usually granular or tufted, and with definite fascicles 

 appearing at least in the marginal areas. 



1". Conidia smooth or delicately roughened P. cyclopium Westling 



2". Conidia rough-walled and globose or nearly so. 



P. cyclopium West. var. echinulatum n. var. 

 bb. Colonies with fasciculation often reduced and with sporulating surfaces 



often appearing velvetj' or lanose P. puherulum Bainier 



2'. Colonies usually in brighter blue-green shades; often narrowly zonate; conidio- 

 phores smooth or finely roughened on Czapek agar; conidia usually elliptical, 

 aa. Colonies fairly rapidly spreading, heavily sporing on malt agar. 



P. martensii Biourge 



bb. Colonies more restricted, non-sporulating or lightly sporulating on malt 



agar P. aurantio-virens Biourge 



Members of the series are very abundant in nature and may be isolated 

 from a wide variety of natural substrata. In many respects they bear a 

 close resemblance to the Penicillium expansum series (next to be consid- 

 ered), and separation from the latter is often difficidt. They do not, how- 

 ever, rot pomaceous fruits, although they can often be isolated from such 

 fruits, having entered as saprophytes or possibly as secondary parasites. 



Separation into species within the series is difficult and often unsatis- 

 factory. The niunber of characters available for diagnostic use is limited 

 and these often appear to vary independently. For example, details of 

 microscopy cannot be consistently correlated with a particular cultural 

 aspect. This type of variation regularly occurs among different strains as 

 freshly isolated. The same strains likewise tend to vary during periods 

 of successive recultivation and the production of variant growth types 



