**Table 3.**

*Identification of isolated Penicillium and related species in dried fruit samples.*

those reported elsewhere. *P. citrinum* has been reported in peanut kernels [19] as well as *Penicillium crustosum* [14] and *P. expansum* [21], whereas *P. variotii* is a mold associated with oily foods [1] that has previously been isolated from walnuts as well as from peanuts [22].

It was possible to identify isolates of *P. variotii*, *P. citrinum*, *P. funiculosum*, *P. glabrum*, and *P. rugulosum* without the need for a CSN culture thanks to the characteristics of their penicilli, colony colors in the front and back, colony diameter, and phialide dimensions. It is also known that CSN often lacks discriminatory power against species outside of the subgenus *Penicillium* [23].

*P. variotii* presented the characteristic phialides of the species: flask-shaped (ampulliform) with an elongated neck (collula) that curves away from the center, as well as the ellipsoid conidia that distinguish it from other members of the *Paecilomyces* genus [1]. These same characteristics were reported by Houbraken *et al.* [24].

*P. citrinum* presented white mycelium with dull green conidia, 15 mm diameter colonies, brown colony backs, and ampulliform phialides borne in biverticillate penicilli, as outlined by Pitt & Hocking [1], whose criterion include colonies 12–18 mm in diameter in MEA, and ampulliform phialides 7–12 μm in length, and as reported by Houbraken *et al*. [23], who did not report phialide length, but reported conidia colored blue/gray/green with a brownish-yellow colony back in MEA culture. Differences in phialide length between studies could be attributed to the media of choice.

*P. funiculosum* presented white mycelium with dull green conidia, pale green colony backs, 38.2 mm colony diameter, and acerose phialides borne in terverticillate penicilli, measuring 10.0 μm in length, as outlined by Pitt & Hocking [1], whose criterion include colonies between 25 and 45 mm diameter in MEA, dull green conidia with white to reddish mycelium and acerose phialides between 9 and 11 μm in length. Bandh *et al.* [6] reported colonies colored green on the front and brown in the back, measuring 39 mm in diameter in MEA, as well as cylindrical phialides borne in terverticillate penicilli.

*P. glabrum* presented production of green conidia and brown colony reverse, 40 mm diameter colonies, ampulliform phialides 8.6 μm in length borne in biverticillate penicilli, and smooth conidia. Pitt & Hocking [1] described the species as presenting green conidia with white mycelium and green, yellow, or brown colony backs, as well as ampulliform phialides 8–12 um in length borne in mono or biverticillate penicilli. Barreto *et al.* [25] reported similar macroscopic colony morphology, as well as the species' main distinctive feature: smooth to slightly roughened conidia.

Lastly, *P. rugulosum* presented green colonies (due to conidia production) with brown colony backs, colony diameters of 12.1, and acerose phialides 7.6 μm in length borne from terverticillate penicilli. These characteristics are mostly in line with those reported by Pitt & Hocking [1], who reported green/yellow colony fronts with brown backs and 10–20 mm diameter colonies. These authors also report phialides between 8 and 11 μm, which are slightly longer than those encountered in this work. Similarly, Sidrim *et al*. [26] reported *P. rugulosum* as green colonies of approximately 12 mm in diameter, presenting biverticillate penicilli and ellipsoidal conidia.
