ENDOTHIA PIGMENTS. P 
LoN A. Hawkins and Neil E. Stevens 
The genus Endothia is characterized by a yellow or orange stroma 
and all known species produce a yellow or buff color in the mycelium 
and upper layers of the substratum when grown on starchy culture 
media. In connection with cultural studies of this genus Shear and 
Stevens^ first called attention to the fact that certain species when 
grown on cornmeal or other starchy media produced a bright color, 
"perilla purple," while the others produce no such color. 
Continued study enabled them to divide the genus on the basis of 
this color production. This division does not, however, coincide with 
the classification based on morphology. On the basis of spore form 
the genus is arranged as follows:^ 
Section i, — Ascospores short — cylindrical to allantoid, continuous or 
pseudo-septate. 
E. gyrosa (Schw.) Fr. 
E. singularis (Syd. & Syd.) S. & S. 
Section 2. — Ascospores oblong — fusiform to oblong-ellipsoid, uniseptate 
when mature. 
E. fluens (Sow.) S. & S. 
E. fluens mississippiensis S. & S. 
E. longirostris Earle. 
E. tropicalis S. & S. 
E. parasitica (Murr.) And. & And. 
Of these species the first three uniformly produce perilla purple on 
such media as cornmeal, oatmeal or rice flasks while the others have 
consistently failed to produce this color. It is noteworthy that 
E. fluens is included in the group which produces the purple color 
while £. parasitica is not. These two species are so similar morpho- 
logically that at one time leading mycologists considered them iden- 
^ Published by permission of the Secretary of Agriculture. 
2 Shear, C. L,, and Stevens, Neil E. Cultural characters of the chestnut-blight 
fungus and its near relatives. U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. PI. Ind. Circ. 131: 3-18, 1913. 
3 Shear, C. L., Stevens, Neil E., and Tiller, Ruby J. Endothia parasitica and 
related species. U. S. Dept Agr. Bull. 380. 191 7. 
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