ASYMMETRICA-FASCICULATA 495 



pearing granular or "mealy", conidiophores arising from the substratum, 

 often crowded into fascicles or tufts, but usually borne more or less sepa- 

 rately; exudate lacking in some strains, abundantly produced in others, 

 clear or very faintly colored in pink or orange shades; odor pronounced, 

 "moldy" but difficult to characterize; reverse uncolored or yellowish at 

 first, becoming orange-brown or even purplish in two weeks in most strains, 

 remaining essentially colorless in others; penicilli large, about 50 to GO/x 

 in length, asymmetrically branched, bearing tangled chains of conidia in 

 irregular masses up to 150m long (fig. 126A); conidiophores arising from 

 the substratum, mostly 200 to 400/i in length by 3.0 to 3.5m in diameter, 

 sometimes coarser, with walls typically roughened but in some strains 

 appearing smooth or nearly so; penicillus usually showing one or occasion- 

 ally more branches, 15 to 30m by 2.5 to 3.5m, often appressed and like the 

 main axis usually bearing 3 to 4 metulae 10 to 15m by 2.5 to 3.3m (hgs- 

 126B and 127C), each supporting a verticil of 4 to 8 sterigmata measuring 

 7 to 10m by 2.2 to 2.8m, ^vith apices ending abruptly in conidial chains; 

 conidia mostly subglobose 3.5 to 4.0m in diameter but with both globose 

 and elliptical conidia observed, the latter commonly ranging from 3.3 to 

 4.0m by 2.5 to 3.0m, with walls smooth or delicately roughened. 



Colonies on steep agar growing more rapidly than on Czapek, usually 

 6.0 to 6.5 cm. in diameter in 12 da3^s, commonly heavily sporing but in 

 general reproducing the colony pattern described above; penicilli as de- 

 scribed on Czapek but with conidiophore walls often more definitely 

 roughened. 



Colonies on malt agar spreading broadly, attaining a diameter of 6.5 to 

 7.0 cm. in 12 days, plane or nearly so, appearing more or less granular, 

 not furrowed but often showing concentric zones of clustered (fascicles) 

 conidiophores (fig. 127B); penicilli as on Czapek agar; walls of conidio- 

 phores more coarsely roughened and this roughening often extending to the 

 metulae; conidial chains commonly up to 200m or more in length. 



Species description based upon the detailed comparative examination 

 of more than a score of strains grown in agar plate cultures for the present 

 study. Since the description is drawn in very broad terms, no single strain 

 can be cited as wholly typical. However, the following cultures may be 

 regarded as representative of Penicillium cyclopium: NRRL 942, from the 

 Thom Collection as No. 4733.48, received originally from Biourge and re- 

 garded by both Thom and Biourge as representing this species ; NRRL 1899 

 received from Professor H. W. Florey as No. M-22, capable of producing an 

 antibiotic (subsequentlj'' identified as penicillic acid) that inhibited Staphy- 

 lococcus species and EschericJiia coli; NRRL 941 from the Thom Collection 

 as No. 4733.43, received originally from Biourge as P. corymbiferum West- 

 ling but regarded by Thom (1930, p. 385) as representing P. cyclopium; 



