Pithomyces chartarum, its occurrence morphology, and taxonomy

Abstract

Pithomyces chartarum (Berk. & Curl.), M. B. Ellis is a cosmopolitan saprophytic fungus, belonging to the Dematiaceae, distributed throughout warm temperate, sub-tropical, and tropical regions of the world. It occurs commonly in the north of New Zealand on debris in pastures, especially in the warm summer months, where it has been shown to be associated with a disease in sheep and cattle. Studies on its morphology showed it to be an extremely variable species influenced greatly by conditions such as temperature and substrate under which it is grown. Temperature studies with different isolates of P. chartarum indicated that P. maydicus must be regarded as a synonym of P. chartarum. Morphological characters must be reassessed in order to obtain a consistent differentiation between species within the genus if comparisons are to be made between material from countries throughout the world having wide ranges of seasonal changes in climate.