NOTE ON THE GENUS CONIOTHECIUM, CORDA.: 

 WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO CONIOTHECIUM 

 CHOMATOSPORUM CORDA. 



Bv Paul A. van der Bijl, M.A.. D.Sc, F.L.S. 



{Plates 29-34 and tzvo text figures.) 

 Introduction. 



Elsewhere* I have described an apple blister and apple crack- 

 ing disease as due to Coniothec'uiw cliomatosporiim Corda, and 

 later Massee,t in his paper " Blister Disease of Fruit Trees," 

 wrote : — 



What appears to be the same disease has been described by Pole 

 Evans and P. A. van der Vi^]\X as present on apple trees in South Africa 

 In this instance, however, the authors were only acquainted with one stage 

 in tlie life-cycle of the fungus concerned, to whicli tliey applied the name 

 Coniflfliccium choitiatosponim Corda. 



True, in the articles referred to there is no mention of any 

 other stage in the life-cycle, yet the latter author had at that 

 time come across Phoma pycnidia in Coniothecium cultures, and 

 his only reason for not metitioning it was that he intended to 

 complete the investigation which, owing to pressure of work of 

 more direct agricultural importance, had to be discontinued at 

 the time the above article a])peared. 



In view of Massee's paper, and as it may be some time 

 before the opportunity arises for continuing this investigation, 

 the author thinks it best to publish the results he has arrived at. 

 It may be mentimied here that these restilts were obtained before 

 the pul)lication above-mentioned went to the press. 



The genus Coniotlieeiiiiii was founded by Corda §, who dis- 

 tingtiishes it under the following characters : " Sporse simplices, 

 in globulos corneos irregulariter conghitinat?e et acervulos 

 effusos vel solitarios, rariiis stromate sttffultos referentes. Color 

 obscurtts." 



From the above it is evident that the genits Coniothecium 

 is very badly defined, attd various authors have from time to 

 time brought forward evidence which appears to indicate that 

 Coniotlieciitm is nothing else but a stage in the life-history of 

 one or more of the higher fungi. 



Before proceeding to detail the results arrived at, it may be 

 well to call attention to some of the older works. 



Marshall Wardji (1900) has obtained in pure culture a 

 Coniothecium from Dematium pitUulans de By. et Low. 



'* Van der Bijl, P. A. : " Apple-cracking and apple branch blister, etc.'' 

 Agr. Journ. Union of South Africa, 8 [i], 64. 



t Massee, G. : " BHster disease of Fruit Trees,"' Kew Bull., No. 3, 

 (1915), 104. 



J Pole F.vans, I. B. : " Notes on Plant Diseases." Trans. Agr. Journ., 

 5, 680. 



§ Corda, A. C. : " Tcones Fungorum," I., p. 2. 



I! Ward, H. Marshall : " The Nutrition of Fimgi," British Myco- 

 logical Soc. Trans, for Session 1899-1900, p. 134. 



