CHAPTER XVI.
FAMILY—SPHAERIACEAE.
Perithecia carbonaceous or membranaceous, sometimes confluent with the stroma, pierced at the apex, and mostly papillate; hymenium diffluent.—Berkeley Outlines.
There are four tribes in this family, viz:
- Nectriæi.
- Xylariæi.
- Valsei.
- Sphæriei.
Under Nectriæi we have the following genera:
| Stipitate— | ||
| Clavate or capitate | Cordyceps. | |
| Head globose, base sclerotioid | Claviceps. | |
| Parasitic on grass— | ||
| Stroma myceloid | Epichlœ. | |
| Variable— | ||
| Sporidia double, finally separating | Hypocrea. | |
| Sporidia double, ejected in tendrils, parasitic on fungi | Hypomyces. | |
| Stroma definite, perithecia free, clustered or scattered | Nectria. | |
| Perithecia erect, in a polished and colored sac | Oomyces. | |
| Under Xylariæi we have: | ||
| Stipitate— | ||
| Stroma corky, subelavate | Xylaria. | |
| Stroma somewhat corky, discoid | Poronia. | |
Cordyceps. Fr.
Cordyceps is from a Greek word meaning a club and a Latin word meaning a head. It is a genus of Pyrenomycetous fungi of which a few grow upon other fungi, but by far the greater number are parasitic upon insects or their larva, as will be seen in Figure 491.
The spores enter the breathing openings along the sides of the larva and the mycelium grows until it fills the interior of the larva and kills it.