Phonetic: Vert-ee-sill-ee-um

Verticillium is a widespread mitosporic (lacks a sexual state) fungus found on soils and decaying plant matter in temperate to subtropical to tropical areas. This saprobe (weak parasite) requires wounds in order to infect a host. It causes the plant disease Verticillium Wilt, which affects many mild-climate plants in hot weather and is characterized by wilt, dulling or yellowing of leaf color and withering near the base. Some species are parasites of other fungi and insects (arthropods). Verticillium is generally considered to be nonpathogenic, but a few cases of keratitis (eye infection) have been reported. This genus can produce an antifungal compound (vergosin), an antitumor antibiotic, and other compounds that have industrial uses. Characterized by whorls of phialides (bottle shaped cells that produce conidia) produced along the length of undifferentiated filaments on conidiophores. Conidia are colorless, 1- or 2-celled, and collected in small wet masses. Colonies are moderately rapid growing, velvety to wooly, becoming powdery, white, yellowish, pinkish-brown or reddish-rose to blue-green in color. (A_w - 0.90) Culture - Potato dextrose agar or Malt extract agar, 20° – 25°C, 7 – 10 days.