Graphiola phoenicis, a biotrophic parasitic fungus of palms, was originally identified as a myxomycete and later classified as a discomycete, rust, pyrenomycete, smut-like fungus and hyphomycete. This taxonomic confusion has persisted for approximately 160 years and is primarily due to the lack of understanding of fructification development and the nuclear cycle of the fungus. During our investigations, Phoenix canariensis Hort., which is one of the hosts of G. phoenicis, was maintained in a growth chamber under conditions suitable for dissemination of the parasite. On the basis of ultrastructural and histological data obtained from a study of infected leaves, mechanisms of ingress, ramification and egress of G. phoenicis are proposed. Techniques of fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry show that the air-dispersed propagules and yeast cells are the same ploidy and support the results of a recent study which demonstrate that meiosis occurs in the chain of fertile cells (basidia). The fungus is a member of the Heterobasidiomycetes and should be accommodated in the separate order Graphiolales. Reference:
http://www.jstor.org/...
