January 21, 1916] 



SCIENCE 



111 



and any disease which would tend to limit its 

 growth might be considered as being of econ- 

 omic importance. During the past season the 

 writer has collected at a number of points 

 within the Salt Lake Valley specimens of this 

 grass on which there was found a Phoma 

 which seems not to have been heretofore re- 

 corded as occurring on it. 



The species of Phoma under consideration 

 does not seem to agree with any of the species 

 described as occurring on various species of 

 Gramineffi. A review of the literature indi- 

 cates that a considerable number of species of 

 Phoma have been found on the Graminese but 

 many of them are imperfectly described, so 

 that it is difficult to tell whether the species of 

 Phoma occurring on Western wheat-grass is or 

 is not new. In some respects it resembles 

 Phoma lophio stomoides Sacc, although the 

 spores are smaller, being as a rule less than 

 15/^ in length; rarely spores of 15 f or over 

 are found. Owing to the size of the spores 

 and other prominent characters it is possible 

 that the species is new. A more extended 

 note will be published later. 



P. J. O'Gaka 



Salt Lake City, Utah, 

 September 23, 1915 



A FUNGUS OF UNCERTAIN SYSTEMATIC POSI- 

 TION OCCURRING ON WHEAT AND RYE 



Foe some time the writer has been studying 

 a very interesting organism which has been 

 found occurring on wheat and rye. Speci- 

 mens of wheat and rye infected with the or- 

 ganism have been collected at various points 

 in the Salt Lake Valley. The fungus seems 

 to attack the heads of both wheat and rye 

 some time before they emerge from the sheaths. 

 Very often the heads are so severely attacked 

 as not to emerge but remain permanently 

 within the sheath. The fungus is usually 

 found on the rachis, the glumes, the essential 

 organs and the inner parts of the sheaths. At 

 no time has it been found to occur on the in- 

 ternodes below the upper node. The efPect 

 upon the inflorescence seems to be such as to 

 prevent the normal development of the essen- 

 tial organs. 



The organism was readily isolated and has 



been grown in pure culture for several months. 

 It grows readily in agar, potato, rice and other 

 media producing normal mycelium and fruit- 

 ing bodies. The mycelium is white or hyaline, 

 multi-septate and much branched, varying 

 from about 2.5 to 5.8 m in thickness. Perithe- 

 cia-like bodies are borne on either short or 

 long stalks on the mycelium or they may be 

 borne terminally. Generally they are found 

 singly but often are more or less grouped. 

 These bodies are from 9 to 17.5 i^ in diameter, 

 being spherical or slightly oval, brown to dark 

 brown in color and containing small refractive 

 bodies 2.5 to 5.8 ^ in diameter held in a more 

 or less granular mass. The number of refrac- 

 tive bodies may vary from 1 to 6, there being 

 no seeming regularity in number. The walls 

 of the perithecia-like bodies are % <" or less in 

 thicluiess and can be readily separated from 

 the contents, leaving the contents virtually in- 

 tact. 



In some respects this fungus bears a striking 

 resemblance to Endom,yces malt Lewis. ^ How- 

 ever, no sporidia are produced and the perithe- 

 cia-like bodies do not contain germinating 

 ascospores. It is therefore only the general ap- 

 pearance of the fungus in culture that bears 

 a resemblance to the perithecia-bearing myce- 

 lium of Endomyces mali. The perithecia-like 

 bodies of this apparently new organism are 

 produced singly or on short branches of the 

 mycelium or terminally without the fusion of 

 cells or nuclei. When the perithecia-like bod- 

 ies are placed in culture media germination 

 follows within a very short time, producing a 

 vigorous mycelium which in turn produces 

 perithecia-like bodies in about 5 to 7 days, 

 depending upon temperature conditions. 



It has not been determined as yet what may 

 be the function of the refractive bodies gen- 

 erally found in the perithecia-like structure. 

 It is possible that these bodies may be storage 

 material inasmuch as they have not been seen 

 to germinate. Undoubtedly a considerable 

 amount of eytological work must be done in 

 order to determine the systematic position of 

 the fungus. This work is in progress and at 



1 Bulletin No. 178, Maine Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Station, April, 1910. 



