Story: Fungi

Spores of facial eczema fungus

Spores of facial eczema fungus

Facial eczema is a disease of cattle and sheep. This occurs when they become sensitive to sunlight after they eat the spores of the fungus Pithomyces chartarum. The fungus infests pasture grasses and may reach high levels of infection in warm damp weather.

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Landcare Research – Manaaki Whenua
Photograph by Ross Beever

© Copyright image. All rights reserved. Permission from Manaaki Whenua: Landcare Research New Zealand Limited must be obtained before the re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Peter Buchanan, 'Fungi - Parasites: disease-causing fungi', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/11583/spores-of-facial-eczema-fungus (accessed 5 May 2024)

Story by Peter Buchanan, published 24 Sep 2007