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Fusarium lateritium
Nomenclature
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Family: NectriaceaeGenus: Fusarium
SUMMARY
Anamorph (Fusarium lateritium agg.); on natural substrata sporodochia pinkish to orange, erumpent from the host material. In culture: mycelium floccose to felted, yellow, vinaceous to reddish-brown or blue-black. Stromata, if present, violet or blue-black. Conidiophores initially simple lateral branches terminating in several cylindrical to doliiform conidiogenous cells, 10–30 × 2·5–4 μm, proliferating percurrently with distinct collarettes, becoming more complex in older cultures and may group as sporodochia. These are marked by the mass of orange spores they produce. Conidia: true microconidia absent, macroconidia falcate to straight, short or long and narrowly fusoid, 3–7-septate, beaked at the apex and usually with a marked pedicellate foot cell; conidia that are short are straight to curved, 3–5-septate and with a short beak, 22–48 × 3–4 μm; long, straight or falcate conidia, sometimes indistinctly 5–8-septate, are 40–75 × 2·5–5 μm in size.
Teleomorph: (Gibberella baccata): ascomata perithecia, 180-220 µm diam. and 200-250 µm tall [dried specimen], broadly ellipsoidal to pyriform, the ostiole distinct but not papillate, superficial, dark bluish black, smooth to ± tuberculate, sometimes with a metallic sheen. Peridium two-layered, the outer part with several layers of dark pinkish-brown ± globose cells 12-22 µm diam.and an inner layer of smaller hyaline to pale brown flattened angular cells. Asci 70-105 x 10-12 µm, cylindric-clavate with a short stalk and rounded apex, not fissitunicate, apical structures not clearly visible, 8-spored. Ascospores arranged biseriately, 15-18 (-19.5) x 5-6 (-7) µm, fusiform-ellipsoidal to ellipsoidal or somewhat clavate, ± equally 3-septate, more rarely 1- or 2-septate and then somewhat shorter, not constricted at the septa, fairly thick-walled, hyaline, smooth, without an epispore, gelatinous sheath or appendages.
Description of the anamorph adapted largely from Booth (1971).