CHAPTER XIX 

 TORULEAE 



Toruleae Saecardo, Syll. Fung. 4: 235, 247, 1886. 



The type genus is Torula Persoon non Turpin, Pasteur, Hansen, etc. 



Mycelium usually dark colored, often black ; spores usually dark colored ; 

 no differentiation of sporophores; multiplication by arthrospores and chlamy- 

 dospores, rarely sprouting. 



In this group I have combined the Coniosporieae and Toruleae of Sac- 

 cardo. The Coniosporieae are a small group of species with more or less 

 evanescent mycelium bearing single, terminal black spores of variable shape. 

 The morphology is little known, but I assume that the spores are really 

 arthrospores, or chlamydospores liberated by the disintegration of the hyphae 

 which bear them, not by any specialized mechanism, as in the case of conidia. 

 The Toruleae of Saccardo in a narrow sense include all the dark colored fungi 

 with blastospores or arthrospores, hence the spores are usually in chains. To 

 this group I have also added Madurella, a genus whose morphology is not well 

 known. The cells are usually dark colored, in many ways suggesting a 

 Hormiscium but apparently not normally producing arthrospores. In cul- 

 tures, in my experience, it continues to produce sterile hyphae, forming hard, 

 sclerotioid masses very adherent to media and hence very difficult to transfer, 

 while Hormiscium produces moister and softer colonies. 



There are comparatively few pathogenic species in this group, which 

 is predominantly saprophytic on decaying wood and other vegetable matter. 

 It is quite possible that some species reported as pathogens were contaminants 

 In the case of Cladosporium, it has been found frequently enough to justify 

 its inclusion as having pathogenic species. Some would make it the type of 

 another tribe, the Cladosporieae, since it regularly has 2-spored cells. So 

 many confusing transitional states have been reported that it seems better 

 for present purposes to leave it in the Toruleae. 



In Madurella, there are many species mostly isolated from black grained 

 mycetomata, and in Indiella, those from light grained ones. In general, light 

 grains are produced by species of Actinomyces, but occasionally Indiella is 

 found instead. 



The problem of generic names is complicated somewhat as in the im- 

 perfect yeasts, especially by the use of the name Torula by Turpin, Pasteur, 

 Hansen, and even Guilliermond for asporogenous yeasts. Historically this 

 usage is altogether incorrect. A discussion of the early application of the 

 older generic names in this group follows. 



669 



