BULLETIN No. 178. 



A NEW SPECIES OF ENDOMYCES- FROM DECAY- 

 ING APPLE. 



Charles E. Lewis. 



In October 1908, the fungus which is described in this paper 

 was discovered by the writer in connection with a study of apple 

 decay fungi at this Station. In examining material from an 

 apple which showed a small injured place which was overgrown 

 by fungus mycelium and had a rather dry appearance, the spores 

 of several fungi including species of Alternaria, Cladosporium, 

 and Fnsarium were found. Associated with these were a large 

 ntmiber of almost spherical brown bodies which were for the 

 most part 11-14 microns in diameter, each of which was found 

 to contain 4 spores. Dilution plate cultures were made, using 

 prune agar as a culture medium. Eight fungi developed in 

 these plates and anwng them was one which produced conidia 

 in very much the same manner which has been described by Bre- 

 feld (i) for Ascoidca rubesccns Brefeld. The conidia were 

 formed in such large numbers that they became piled up on 

 the agar to such an extent as to give a powdery appearance. 

 There was almost no development of aerial myceliimi. 



When the cultures were examined, 10 days after they were 

 made, it was found that a large number of small bodies resemb- 

 ling the spore sacs or asci of an Bndoinyccs had developed. 

 These sacs were borne on short branches of the hyphae as 

 shown in Figures 60, 61, and 65. Some of the sacs had already 

 formed spores and in each case, so far as determined at that 

 time, 4 spores were found. Later study has shown that there 

 are usually a considerable number of the bodies which do not 

 form spores and that there may be occasional !}■ an ascus which 

 forms only 2 spores. Cases in which only 2 spores are fo'^med 

 are very exceptional and arc very rarely seen. No case has 

 ever Ix^en observed in which nv^re tlian 4 spores were formed. 

 When the ascospores arc matiu'c thev are brown in color. They 

 vary in size according to the siae of the ascus but in asci which 



