712 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol, XXXI, No. 8 
Unquestionably Saccardo’s identification was concerned with the 
smaller species of Helminthosporium present on Baker’s specimens 
as tassel mold, one of the several types frequently encountered when 
dead grass leaves are incubated in a damp chamber. In spite of its 
general distribution in nature, it appears to be of relatively little 
significance in relation to disease, and is discussed here only to clear 
up nomenclatorial confusion. 
OCCURRENCE ON TEOSINTE 
With the several lots of diseased maize leaves kindly sent by 
Weston were two liberal lots of teosinte (Euchlaena mexicana Schrad.) 
leaves collected in September and November, 1918, in the same 
locality as the maize collections. These leaves exhibit lesions 
strikingly similar to leafspot lesions on maize in shape and coloration, 
though minor differences are apparent in some instances in the less 
regularly straight lateral margins and the somewhat greater length 
of the lesions on teosinte, which may measure up to 3 cm. in a longi¬ 
tudinal direction (pi. 1, A, B). The lateral edges, in general, cud 
not coincide as closely with the veins of the host as on maize. Micro¬ 
scopic examination revealed in the central parts of the dead areas, 
a sparse production of conidiophores and comdia, which when treated 
with chloral hydrate showed complete similarity to those on maize. 
Owing evidently to application of preservatives, efforts to recover the 
parasite in a living condition by incubating infected material in a 
damp chamber did not succeed. However, because of the close 
similarity in morphology and pathological habit, there can be little 
doubt that the same parasite is involved in the foliar disease of the 
two closely related hosts, which, it may be mentioned, have several 
other fungous parasites in common. 
The occurrence of the leafspot fungus on teosinte raises the question 
as to the probable identity of the parasite found in the United States 
and in the Philippines with Helmirdhosporium euchlaenae described 
by Zimmerman (17) as pathogenic to this host in German East 
Africa. Zimmerman’s description of the foliar lesions produced by 
the African form as light-brown spots with dark-brown margin, 
mostly elongated in a longitudinal direction, approximately 2 mm. 
wide and up to 25 mm. long, applies unusually well to the Philippine 
material. A not unsatisfactory agreement prevails also with reference 
to the sporophores which, according to the German account, are 
brown, unbranched, several times septate, 5 to 7 /x in diameter and 
up to 150 n in length, and emerge from the stomata singly or in 
groups of two or three. The characterization of the conidia as 
brownish, cylindrical, straight or somewhat curved, up to seven 
times septate, 50 to 60 fx long and 13 to 15 in diameter, would seem 
to represent these structures as considerably inferior in degree of 
curvature, frequencv of septation, and maximum length to the 
conidia on the Philippine specimens. If Zimmerman’s text and 
figures give a sufficient description of the conidia of the African 
fungus, it would be necessary to conclude that the latter constitutes 
a species distinct from the Philippine form. However, with a fungus 
sporulating as sparingly as the leafspot parasite, the possibility of a 
description being based on a small number of conidia not altogether 
characteristic of the species is far from being a remote one. The 
question concerning the identity of the leafspot parasite with H. 
