248 



MANUAL OF POISONOUS PLANTS 



details of the structure of this fungus have been given by Olive, 1 Barker. 2 and 

 Ikeno 3 and in a paper to be published by Dr. Buchanan. Dr. Buchanan found 

 this species in spoiled corn silage, which was responsible for the death of several 

 horses in Iowa. This species possibly has been the cause of the disease, this 

 fungus occurring only where air had access to the silage. The fungus found 

 by Harz produces a mycelium similar to the preceding with thick-walled swell- 

 ings and color white or carmine red; conidia ellipsoidal, spherical, obovate, of 

 two kinds, the smaller 2.5-3 /*. to 7-8 /*, occurring in chains or singly, the larger 

 occurring singly 9-11 M in diameter, and arising from lateral branches; spor- 

 angia from short lateral branches are spherical 40-53 M in diameter, many 

 spored ; the sporangia are surrounded by branched hyphae, ascospores spherical 

 or oval, colorless 4-5 M in diameter ; conidia and hyphae contain a carmine red 

 pigment physomycin. 



Fig. 75A. Corn Silage fungus (Monascus purpureus.) 

 1, 2, 3, Conidiophores with conidia; 4, germinating conidium; 

 5, sterile hypha covering of perithecium sending out branches, 

 these are sometimes tipped with conidia; 6, optical section 

 of mature perithecium; spores still within asci. Found in 

 corn silage by Dr. Buchanan. 



Euasci 



Asci with definite number of spores, usually 2, 4, 8, 16, 32; seldom, but 

 occasionally 1-celled. 



EUASCALES 



Contains the yeast plant, peach curl, plum pocket, ergot, blue mould, 

 powdery mildews, etc. 



PROTOASCINEAE 



Asci single, in one group, without distinctive development of the mycelium; 

 in the other with a distinctive mycelium bearing the asci with their spores. 



1 Annals of Bot. 17:167, pi. 12 &13. 



2 Bot. Gazette. 39:56. 



3 Ber. deutsch Bot. Gesellsch. 12:259. 





