Claviceps purpurea
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Claviceps purpurea is an ergot fungus that grows on the ears of rye and related cereal and forage plants. Consumption of grains or seeds contaminated with the survival structure of this fungus, the er
Claviceps purpurea
Various stages in the life cycle of Claviceps purpurea
fruiting bodies with head and stipe on Sclerotium
Model of Claviceps purpurea, Botanical Museum Greifswald
Sclerotium
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Examples of fungi that form sclerotia are ergot, Polyporus tuberaster, Psilocybe mexicana, Agroathelia delphinii and many species in Sclerotiniaceae. Although not fungal, the plasmodium of slime molds
Claviceps purpurea
…the ears of rye and related cereal and forage plants. Consumption of grains or seeds contaminated with the survival structure of this fungus, the ergot sclerotium, can cause ergotism in humans and other mammals. C. purpurea most commonly affects outcrossing species such as rye (its most common host), as well as…
Sclerotinia sclerotiorum sclerotia
Sclerotia initially were mistaken for individual organisms and described as separate species until Louis René Tulasne proved in 1853 that sclerotia are only a stage in the life cycle of some fungi.