Ascomycetes - Leotiales, Rhytismatales, Clavicipitales - The Fifth Kingdom

Order Leotiales - family Sclerotiniaceae - apothecial ascoma arising from a sclerotium.
X 1

Order Leotiales - family Sclerotiniaceae - Monilia anamorph of Monilinia attacking peaches. The concentric grey zones are made up of conidial chains (see next picture)
X 1/3

Order Leotiales - family Sclerotiniaceae - Monilia anamorph of Monilinia - forming branched, apically extending chains of conidia (blastic-acropetal)
X 100

Order Leotiales - family Sclerotiniaceae - spur blight of wild cherry caused by Monilia
X 2/3

Order Leotiales - family Sclerotiniaceae - Botrytis anamorph of Botryotinia attacking strawberry (Fragaria) and causing grey mould disease.

Order Leotiales - family Phacidiaceae -
Phacidium abietis attacking needles of fir (Abies)
See next picture

Order Leotiales - family Phacidiaceae - Phacidium abietis producing apothecial ascomata in fir needles (Abies)
X 2

Order Leotiales - family Phacidiaceae - Apostrasseria anamorph of Phacidium coniferarum (pathogenic). Note pycnidial conidioma, phialidic conidiogenous cells, and appendaged conidia

Order Leotiales - family Phacidiaceae - Ceuthospora anamorph of Phacidium betulinum (saprobic). Note pycnidial conidiomata, phialides and appendaged conidia

Order Leotiales - family Geoglossaceae - black, tongue-shaped apothecial ascomata of Geoglossum arising from the ground
X 1

Order Leotiales - family Geoglossaceae
(far left) a single ascus of Geoglossum containing 8 long, pigmented, parallel ascospores
    X 200
(near left) a single pigmented, multi-septate (phragmoseptate) ascospore of Geoglossum.
    X 200

Order Leotiales - family Leotiaceae - yellow apothecial ascomata of Leotia lubrica
X 1

Order Leotiales - family Leotiaceae - apothecial ascomata of Leotia viscosa
X 1

Order Rhytismatales - covered apothecial ascomata of Lophodermium pinastri in a dead pine needle.
X 5

Order Rhytismatales - transverse section of a pine needle with two apothecial ascomata of Lophodermium pinastri.
X 25

Order Rhytismatales - Rhytisma acerinum (tar spot) fruiting on a maple leaf.
X 1

Order Rhytismatales - developing apothecia of Rhytisma punctatum on big-leaf maple
X 2

Order Clavicipitales - protruding sclerotia (ergots) of Claviceps purpurea replacing grains of a grass
X 1/2

Order Clavicipitales - vertical section through the compound perithecial ascoma of Claviceps purpurea. Note the large number of peripheral perithecial cavities in the spherical head.
X 60

Order Clavicipitales - compound ascomata of Cordyceps martialis arising from a lepidopteran larva.
X 1

Order Clavicipitales - compound ascomata of Cordyceps sobolifera arising from pupa of cicada.
X 2/3

Order Clavicipitales - a compound ascoma of Cordyceps militaris arising from a lepidopteran pupa.
X 2

Order Clavicipitales - Cordyceps fruiting on caterpillars, as used in Chinese medicine.
X 3/4

Order Clavicipitales - Cordyceps capitatus fruting on a deer truffle (Elaphomyces).
X 3/4 Also see next 2 pictures

Order Clavicipitales - close-up of head of Cordyceps capitatus showing large numbers of ostioles (see next picture)
X 6

Order Clavicipitales - a slice of the head shown above. Note the peripheral perithecial cavities.
X 6

Order Clavicipitales - Cordyceps ophioglossoides fruiting on a deer truffle (Elaphomyces).
X 1

Order Clavicipitales - a squash of the contents of a perithecial ascoma of Cordyceps.
X 100
The blue lines are very long individual asci (see below)

Order Clavicipitales - Cordyceps - parts of several asci, showing the long, multiseptate, parallel ascospores (phase contrast illumination)
X 1000

Order Clavicipitales - Cordyceps - tips of two asci showing thickened apices and fragmenting ascospores (phase contrast illumination).
X 1500

Order Clavicipitales - Cordyceps - part of a single ascospore (Nomarski interference contrast illumination).
X 1500

Order Clavicipitales - the grass, Glyceria, with normal inflorescences (see next picture).

Order Clavicipitales - Glyceria attacked by choke disease, caused by Epichloë (see next picture). No inflorescences form - the white lines are Epichloë stromata (see next picture).

Order Clavicipitales - Epichloë stromata developing around grass stalks, preventing flowering (that's why it is called choke disease).
X 2

Order Clavicipitales - transverse section through an Epichloë stroma bearing perithecial ascomata.
X 25 (see also next picture)

Order Clavicipitales - section through a perithecial ascoma of Epichloë
X 60