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Graphium

Fruiting structure a synnema, composed of fused dark conidiophores terminating in a droplet of liquid containing conidia. The colourless 1-celled spores are produced continuously from annellides, phialides or sympodially occurrring holoblastic loci, and collect in a large drop of fluid. The synnemata can be quite stout and up to 5 mm high.

The two photographs in the three-panel picture above were taken from a culture isolated from seeds of canola, an edible rapeseed. It is a typical Graphium anamorph of Kernia, Microascus, Petriella and Pseudallescheria, all members of the ascomycete family Microascaceae. A few non-synnematous (mononematous) structures can be seen in the photograph at left; strictly speaking, these should be called Scedosporium because they are not synnematous. However, many strains are highly synnematous when first isolated but become mononematous after a few transfers. Some species of Scedosporium cause disease in humans and should be handled with great care. The separate photo is the Graphium anamorph of Kernia pachypleura. This species produces distinct but much smaller synnemata with more compact annellides. The drawing was made from an isolate of Ophiostoma and represents a typical Graphium anamorph of the family Ophiostomataceae.

Occurring on wood, dung, seeds, and plant debris. Holomorphs: Ceratocystis, Chaetosphaeria, Kernia, Microascus, Ophiostoma, Petriella, Pseudallescheria. Ref: Ellis 1971; Seifert and Okada, 1993.

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