Art. I.—The Fungus Flora of New Zealand.—Part II.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 39, 1906, Unnumbered Page

Art. I.—The Fungus Flora of New Zealand.—Part II. By George Massee, F.L.S., Principal Assistant (Cryptogams), Herbarium, Royal Gardens, Kew. [Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 5th April, 1906.] Communicated by A. Hamilton. Plates I and II. PolyporeÆ. The one constant morphological feature of the present family consists in the hymenium, or spore-bearing surface, being developed over the entire inner surface of tubes or pits. In the most typical forms, included in such genera as Boletus and Polyporus, the tubes collectively forming the hymenium are frequently 2 cm. or 3 cm. long, and vary in different species from 0.5 mm. to 5 mm. in diameter. In the highest types the tubes are cylindrical, and are packed compactly side by side, as seen in a vertical section, whereas when viewed in the entire plant the pores or openings of the tubes only are seen. The form of the pores is circular when the tubes are cylindrical; in other instances the pores are polygonal, or sinuous, when somewhat elongated and wavy or flexuous. In certain genera the tubes are so very shallow that they merely resemble circular, polygonal, or sinuous pits or depressions. The bordering walls of the tubes, which bear the hymenium on their free surface, are called “dissepiments.” The elements of the hymenium consist of basidia and paraphyses, and in many instances large cystidia are also present in considerable numbers. Texture, size, and form vary exceedingly in the present group. In Boletus the species are fleshy, soft, and putrescent, completely disappearing within one or two weeks after their

first appearance. On the other hand, the species of Fomes are all perennial, hard, and woody, and form a new hymenial layer of tubes each year; consequently in old specimens the tubes are described as “stratose,” each stratum of tubes corresponding to one year's growth. As illustrating the variety of form included in the family, in Boletus, also in some species of Polyporus and Polystictus, there is an agaric type of structure, consisting of a pileus and central stem, pores replacing gills on the under surface of the pileus. In other genera the stem is lateral or altogether absent, the fungus being fixed by a broad base and forming bracket-or hoof-like horizontal projections. In other genera, again, as Poria, the entire fungus is quite thin, forming more or less extended patches firmly fixed to the matrix, and having the free surface completely covered with the hymenium. Some species are quite minute; others, again, are veritable fungal giants, certain species of Polyporus and Fomes numbering amongst the largest of known Fungi. The family includes a considerable number of destructive parasites; species of Polyporus, Fomes, Merulius, and Poria being more especially destructive to forest and orchard trees; worked timber also suffers unless special precautions are taken. Boletus alone, so far as is known, contains a few edible species, the members of the other genera being either woody or coriaceous, Strobilomyces, a genus closely allied to Boletus, contains several species from Australia, some of which may prove to be edible. It is somewhat remarkable that no specimens representing the genera Boletus or Strobilomyces have as yet been recorded as occurring in New Zealand. It would appear highly improbable that representatives of these genera should be entirely absent, considering their comparative abundance in Australia. Analysis of the Genera. 36.Polyporus. Pileus smooth, fleshy, flesh soft; tubes sharply defined but not separable from the flesh, not stratose. 37.Fomes. Pileus smooth, flesh thick, woody; tubes woody, stratose. 38.Polystictus. Pileus hirsute or silky, flesh quite thin; tubes short, not stratose. 39.Poria. Entirely resupinate; flesh usually very thin; tubes short. 40.Trimetes. Pileus corky, sessile; tubes penetrating different depths into the flesh, not stratose. 41.Dædalea. Pileus corky, sessile; tubes elongated and sinuous, walls thick, elastic. 42.Favolus. Tubes elongated and lamellose, radiating from point of attachment of pileus. 43.Laschia Stipitate or dimidiate; tubes as in Polyporus, but along with the pileus soft and subgelatinous. 44.Merulius. Resupinate, subgelatinous; pores very shallow, irregular, often reduced to irregular wrinkles or folds.

36. Polyporus, Mich. Stem central, lateral, or absent; pileus fleshy, flesh soft and tough at first, becoming firmer, externally more or less glabrous, not sulcate nor zoned; tubes not separable from flesh of pileus, never stratose; pores rounded or angular, often more or less torn at the margin. Annual. Polyporus, Micheli, Gen. Pl., p. 129 (in part). Certain central-stemmed fleshy species of Polyporus closely resemble Boletus, but are at once distinguished by the tubes not being readily separable from the flesh of the pileus. Fomes differs in the woody consistency of the entire fungus, concentrically ridged pileus, and stratose pores. Polystictus is separated by the thin flesh and silky or hirsute, usually zoned, pileus. The great majority of species grow on wood. A few central-stemmed species, leading up to the genus Boletus, grow on the ground. I. Stipitate; stem central, or nearly so. Polyporus arcularius, Fries, Hym. Eur., 526; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 607; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 4903; Austr. Fung., p. 113. Stipitate; pileus 2–4 cm. across, almost flat, or slightly depressed at the centre, margin more or less incurved, yellowish-brown, squamulose with small darker scales which are most persistent at the margin but eventually entirely disappear, flesh very thin; tubes very shallow; pores large elongatohexagonal, elongated radially, pale-wood colour, entire, 1.5–2 mm. long by 0.5–1 mm. wide; stem central, 2–3 cm. long, slender, coloured like the pileus, squamulose, becoming bald. On trunks, &c. New Zealand. Australia, Tasmania, Mauritius, Cape of Good Hope, Natal, India, Java, China, Formosa, Madagascar, Ceylon, central and southern Europe, United States, Brazil. A very beautiful fungus; when in full vigour the margin is beautifully fringed, and the pileus dotted with minute squamules, as is also the stem; eventually, however, every part becomes bald. Distinguished by the large, entire, radially elongated pores. Polyporus melanopus, Fries, Hym. Eur., p. 534; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 4958; Austr. Fung., p. 115. Syn., Polyporus leprodes, Rost. Pileus 5–10 cm. across, flattish at first, then becoming depressed or even irregularly funnel-shaped, rather thin, pliant when growing, delicately flocculose when young, whitish, then dingy yellowish-brown, margin often wavy or lobed; stem varying in position from lateral to being almost central, rather slender, short but variable in length, tapering upwards, blackish-

brown; pores very shallow, whitish, minute, decurrent for a short distance down the stem. On dead wood, branches, and on the ground. New Zealand. Victoria, Queensland, Europe. Distinguished from allied species by the black stem tapering upwards. The flesh is white, softish, and not at all woody. When growth is very vigorous the margin of the pileus is often beautifully waved and crisped, and under such circumstances the pores are often larger than usual. II. Stem lateral when present, often almost obsolete, but pileus attached by a narrowed base. Polyporus phlebophorus, Berk., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 177, tab. cv, fig. 3; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 607; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 4999. Entirely pure white; pileus about 2.5 cm. long and broad, irregularly fan-shaped, and narrowed behind into a very short, wrinkled, stem-like point of attachment; glabrous; cuticle subgelatinous, then becoming dry and cartilaginous; pores very minute; dissepiments thin, minutely toothed. On decaying logs. Tarawera, Northern Island, New Zealand. A very beautiful and distinct species, which does not appear to have been collected since the original specimens on which the species was founded were found by Colenso. Polyporus xerophyllus, Berk., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 178, tab. cv, fig. 2; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 607. Pileus suborbicular or reniform, 2–3 cm. across, rufousbrown, marked with radiating wrinkles, minutely scabrid, or rough with raised points; stem lateral, up to 0.1 cm. long, black, wrinkled, very minutely velvety; hymenium whitish, pores very minute, dissepiments entire. On dead wood. New Zealand. An endemic species discovered by Colenso. Distinguished from allies by the black, minutely velvety stem and radially wrinkled pileus. Polyporus grammocephalus, Berk., Hook. Lond. Journ., 1842, p. 148; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 5005; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 117. Syn., Polyporus emerici, Kalchbr., Grev., x, pl. 145, fig. 125; Polyporus russiceps, Berk. and Broome, Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot.), xiv, p. 48; Polyporus incompletus, Cesati, Myc. Borneo, p. 4; Polyporus platotis, Berk. and Broome, Linn. Trans., ser. ii, vol. i, p. 401; Polyporus fusco-lineatus, Berk. and Broome, Linn. Trans., ser. ii, vol. i, p. 401. Pileus very thin, 2–3 mm. thick, obovate, irregularly circular or reniform, horizontal, margin sometimes more or less wavy,

nearly flat, varying from pale-ochraceous through reddish-brown to umber, with very delicate lines radiating from the point of attachment to the margin, otherwise glabrous, 3–8 cm. broad; pores rather large, irregular, coloured like the pileus; stem usually lateral, very short, 3–4 mm. long by 2–3 mm. thick, scarcely discoid, sometimes quite central, at others almost absent. On rotten trunks, fallen wood, &c. New Zealand. Queensland, New South Wales, New Guinea. A very variable species in minor points, but characterized by the thin flesh, very short lateral stem, and the pileus streaked with very delicate, crowded, radiating ridges. Polyporus borealis, Fries, Syst. Myc., i, p. 366; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 609; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 124; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 5187. Horizontal, subspathulate or reniform, either narrowed behind into a short more or less distinct stem, or thick and sessile, 4–10 cm. across, whitish then dingy-yellow, spongy then corky, compact, hairy; flesh thick, whitish, composed of parallel fibres; tubes 5–8 mm. long; pores unequal, flexuous; dissepiments thin, white, torn; spores hyaline, subglobose, 4 μ diameter. On stumps and trunks of conifers, &c. Otago, Middle Island, New Zealand. Asiatic Siberia, Europe, United States. Pileus often radiately wrinkled, rigid and more or less incurved when dry. When a stem is present the pores are more or less decurrent. Fleshy when young, becoming corky with age. Polyporus colensoi, Berk., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 178; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 607; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 5016. Main branches numerous, rather slender, springing from a common basal mass, and dividing into many smaller branchlets, each terminated by a small, fan-shaped, depressed pileus, brownish, nearly smooth; hymenium pale; pores shallow, large, often elongated, decurrent; dissepiments thin, edge acute, often toothed. On trunks, Tarawera, Northern Island, New Zealand. “Forming a mass more than 1 ft. across; main stems slender, distinct, somewhat elongated, repeatedly dichotomous. Pilei extremely numerous, flabelliform, expanded, depressed above, brownish, smooth, or nearly so, with a few raised lines. Pores pale, often very much elongated, decurrent; dissepiments thin; edge extremely acute, often toothed, sublamelliform. This is a noble species, and evidently differing from every form of P. intybaceus in its distinct dichotomous branches and the constantly acute dissepiments. Some of the figures of Hydnum

coralloides give a better idea of the ramification of the species than any of those of P. frondosus.” (Berk.) Polyporus lactus, Cooke, Grev., xii, p. 16; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 5047; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 119. Imbricated, much divided, rather thin, tough, tawny-orange or rusty above; pilei dimidiate, coalescing, entire, surface broken up into adpressed scaly zones, converging behind into a narrowed point of attachment, margin acute, sometimes tinged crimson or purple, 7–15 cm. broad; pores large, irregular in form, dissepiments thin, pallid; flesh thin, fibrous, orange-rusty. On decaying trunks. Northern Island, New Zealand. Victoria. Closely allied to the European Polyporus giganteus, differing in the bright colour of the pileus and flesh, and in the larger pores. III. Pileus sessile, attached by a broad base. Polyporus plebius, Berk., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 179; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 608; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 126; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 5247. Pallid or pale-wood colour, imbricated, sessile, attached by a broad base, more or less semicircular, 3–8 cm. across, up to 1 cm. thick behind, becoming thinner towards the margin, which is sometimes rather thick and blunt, at other thinner and acute, not zoned, minutely pubescent when growing, usually even, sometimes with a groove or more or less rugged; flesh corky; hymenium concave; pores minute, ⅙–⅛ mm. diameter. On dead wood. Northern Island, New Zealand. Himalayas, Queensland, Victoria, Cuba. The varieties indicated by Berkeley, depending on the acute or obtuse margin of the pileus, are not constant features, both occurring in the same group of specimens. “In the New Zealand form the older parts are inclined to assume a spuriously laccate appearance.” (Berk.) Polyporus scruposus, Fries, Epicr., p. 473; Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 178; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 608; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 5130; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 122. Pileus sessile, attached by a broad base, semicircular or sometimes almost triquetrous, 1 cm. or more thick at the base and becoming thinner towards the acute margin; surface with raised concentric zones, rough with raised points as if minutely corrugated, brown, margin paler; flesh rather thick, orange-brown; tubes 2–5 mm. long; pores very minute, rounded, umber, often with a tinge of purple.

On dead wood. Northern Island, New Zealand. Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania, Pegu, Nepal, Island of Aru, United States, Mexico, Cuba. Hard and woody, solitary or imbricated; known by the sulcate, rough pileus, and coloured flesh. Var. iridioides. Syn., Polyporus iridioides, Berk., Hook. Lond. Journ. Bot., ii, p. 515; Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 178; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 608 (called by a slip iridioides); Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 122; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 5131. Agreeing in habit and size with the type form; differing more especially in having the pileus rough, with elongated bristly nodules behind. Although Dr. Cooke retains Polyporus isidiodes as a species in the “Handbook of Australian Fungi,” after giving the diagnosis he says, “only a variety of P. scruposus,” a statement with which I entirely agree. Polyporus dichrous, Fries, Syst. Myc., i, p. 364; Sacc., Syll. vii, no. 5152; Austr. Fung., p. 123; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 608. Thin, tough, soft, sessile, effuso-reflexed, often imbricated, 2–3 in. wide, sometimes much larger, slightly silky, white; pores very shallow, minute, rounded, cinnamon-colour, 4–5 in the space of 1 mm. On trunks. Northern Island, New Zealand. Victoria, South Africa, Europe, United States. Often covering a large extent of surface, more or less resupinate, with numerous free, spreading margins or lobes. Almost like a Polystictus, but soft and not zoned. 37. Fomes, Fries. Pileus hard, covered with a rigid, crustaceous, zoneless, often concentrically grooved cuticle; tubes stratose. Perennial. Fomes, Fries, Nov. Symb., p. 31. Polyporus of old authors. The woody pileus with a cartilaginous cuticle not ornamented with coloured zones, and the stratose tubes, stamp the present genus. I. Stem lateral, sometimes very short. Fomes lucidus, Fries, Nov. Symb., p. 61; Fl. N.Z., ii, 177; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, 607; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 128; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 5305. Pileus horizontal or oblique, flabelliform, subreniform, or irregular in form, laterally stipitate, 8–15 cm. across, corky, then hard and woody, sulcato-rugose, deep chestnut-red, or

sometimes almost blood-red, polished, shining; tubes 1–1.5 cm. long, pores minute, whitish, then cinnamon; stem very variable in length, irregularly wrinkled, coloured and polished like the pileus; spores 7x5 μ, tinged brown. On trunks, &c. Northern Island, New Zealand. Common in all tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions. Very variable in size and form; the stem is sometimes almost or even quite central. The lacquered appearance of the pileus and stem is due to the exudation of a thick glutinous liquid which covers the surface, where it soon dries, giving to the surface a perfectly smooth and polished aspect. II. Sessile, attached by a broad base. Fomes igniarius, Fries, Syst. Myc., i, p. 375; Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 179; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 608; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 5412; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 131. Pileus at first irregularly globose, even, with a delicate brownish nap clothing the surface, then becoming hoof-shaped, rust-colour, changing to opaque dingy-brown, cuticle very hard, uneven, 6–18 cm. across; margin blunt, paler; flesh ferruginous, zoned, very hard; tubes 2–5 cm. long, very small, stratose, cinnamon, filled with white mycelium when old, general surface of hymenium convex; pores ¼–⅓ mm. across, rounded, at first hoary; spores subglobose, hyaline, 6–7 μ; diameter; cystidia scanty, 10–25 × 5–6 μ. On trunks of various trees, living and dead. Bay of Islands, Northern Island, New Zealand. Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Ceylon, India, Siberia, Europe, United States. Sometimes very large, thick, and in section more or less triangular, hence hoof-shaped. Allied to Fomes fomentarius, differing in being a perennial plant, very hard cuticle and flesh, and in the hyaline spores. A destructive wound-parasite, attacking many different species of trees, dissolving and destroying the heart-wood. Fomes australis, Fries, Hym. Eur., p. 536; Hbdk. N.Z. Flora, p. 608; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 5394; Austr. Fung., p. 130. Normally bracket-shaped, sessile, dimidiate, concentrically zoned or irregularly wavy or tuberculose, glabrous, dark-brown, external crust exceedingly hard, 8–20 cm. across; flesh not very thick, brown, with a tinge of purple; tubes very long, stratose, brown, substance hard; pores at first whitish, then umber, very minute, about 4 in the space of 1 mm.; margin sterile, often slightly thickened.

On dead trunks, stumps, &c. Common in New Zealand, also widely distributed over southern tropical and subtropical regions. A well-marked but at the same time exceedingly variable species. At times the surface of the pileus is marked with more or less deeply indented concentric furrows, at others only slightly concentrically zoned, whereas in other forms the pileus is irregularly rugged or tuberculated. The pileus is sometimes thin, almost semicircular, and bracket-like; at others it becomes elongated and almost cylindrical. Tubes distinctly stratose in thick specimens. The principal features are the very rigid woody cortex, almost too hard to cut with a knife, and the very minute pores. Fomes hemitephrus, Cooke, Grev., xiv, p. 21; Sacc., Syll., vi, no. 5497. Polyporus hemitephrus, Berk., Fl. N.Z., ii, 179; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 608 (incorrectly written hemitrephius). Pileus bracket-shaped, often with a boss near the point of attachment, usually with coarse concentric ridges, glabrous, brown, sometimes paler when young, when the rounded margin is whitish, hard, up to 12 cm. across; flesh 3–4 cm. thick, wood-colour, hard; tubes wood-colour, imperfectly stratified; pores very minute, rounded; hymenium concave, whitish. On trunks of trees. Northern Island, New Zealand. Victoria, India, Gold Coast. Allied to Fomes fraxineus, Fries. Fomes salicinus, Fries, Syst. Myc, i, p. 376; Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 179; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 608; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 132; Sacc., Syll., vi, no. 5429. Often broadly effused, woody, very hard, the greater portion usually resupinate, with a narrow, wavy, smooth, blunt, spreading free margin, cinnamon then greyish; pores minute, rounded, rusty-cinnamon like the flesh; spores 5 × 3 μ; cystidia plentiful 12–35 × 6–8 μ. On trunks, living and dead, especially species of Salix. Dusky Bay, Middle Island, New Zealand. Queensland, South Africa, Europe, United States. Pileus 1 ft. or more across; entirely resupinate, or on vertical trunks having the upper margin free and reflexed. Allied to Fomes fomentarius and F. igniarius, differing in not being hoof-shaped, but thinner in the flesh, and in being more effused over the matrix. Sometimes acts as a destructive wound-parasite.

Fomeshauslerianus, P. Henn., Hedw., 1896, p. 305. Pileus rigid, somewhat woody, reniform or flabellate, radiately venosely rugulose, zoneless, at first covered with olive mealy down, then naked and blackish, 2.5–3 cm. long; margin thin, rigid, waved, crenate; stem short, lateral, olive-primrose; flesh pallid with a yellow tinge; hymenium greyish; tubes short; pores punctiform, minute; spores subglobose On trunks. New Zealand; Auckland, Ohaupo. 38. Polysticus, Fries. Pileus thin, coriaceous, cuticle fibrous, silky or hirsute, often with coloured zones; tubes short. Annual. Polystictus, Fries, Nov. Symb., p. 54. Polyporus of old authors. Often imbricated or growing in superposed tiers. I. Pileus stipitate, stem central. Polystictus oblectans, Berk., Hook. Journ., 1845, p. 51; Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 177; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 607; Austr. Fung., p. 138; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 5545. Entirely bright cinnamon-brown, stem usually darkest; pileus 2–5 cm. across, thin, coriaceous, depressed, margin often torn and wavy, zoned, strigosely silky, shining; pores very short, minute, dissepiments torn; stem central, 2–3 cm. long, 2–4 mm. thick, velvety. On the ground. Northern Island, New Zealand. Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania, Ceylon, India, Brazil. Polystictus cinnamomeus, Jacq., is closely allied to the present species, differing chiefly in the larger angular pores. II. Pileus sessile, attached laterally. Polystictus sanguineus, Fries, Epicr., p. 444; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 609; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 5631; Austr. Fung., p. 141. Pileus reniform or somewhat fan-shaped, sessile, or narrowed behind into a very short stem-like base, attached by an expanded disc, 3–10 cm. broad, glabrous and polished, sometimes concentrically zoned, vermilion, bleaching almost white when old; flesh thin, compact, 0.5 cm. or less thick, margin thinnest, frequently lobed or wavy; tubes very short; pores minute, rounded, 3 in space of 1 mm., deep and persistent vermilion. On trunks, stumps, &c. New Zealand. Australia, Tasmania, Lord Howe Island, India, Java, Borneo, Philippines, Malacca, Sumatra, Friendly and Society Islands, South America, Central America, Cuba, United States

A showy fungus, superficially resembling Polystictus cinnabarinus. For distinction between the two see note under the last-named species. Polystictus cinnabarinus, Fries, Syst. Myc., i, p. 371; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 609; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 5711; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 146. Pileus semicircular, somewhat narrowed behind at the point of attachment; convexo-plane, thickest behind, where it is 1–2 cm. thick, margin thin, 6–10 cm. broad; pileus corky, often slightly zoned or rugulose, at first downy, then glabrous, vermilion, bleaching almost white with age; flesh spongy or fibrous, red; tubes 2–3 mm. long; pores vermilion, roundish, 2, rarely more, in the space of 1 mm. On dead trunks, &c. New Zealand. Australia, Tasmania, India, Ceylon, Sumatra, Cape of Good Hope, Europe, United States. A beautiful fungus, superficially resembling Polystictus sanguineus. The latter, however, differs in the thinner substance of the pileus, which is glabrous and polished at all stages, is attached to the matrix by a distinct disc, and has smaller pores. Polystictus versicolor, Fries, Syst. Myc., i, p. 368; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 5741; Austr. Fung., p. 146. Polyporus versicolor, Fries, Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 609. Pileus thin, coriaceous, flat on both surfaces, often slightly depressed behind, upper surface densely velvety, shining, with variously coloured concentric bands, 3–10 cm. across; pores very short, minute, white, becoming tinged buff or cream-colour; dissepiments thin, becoming torn; pores about ¼ mm. across. On trunks, stumps, branches, &c. Northern Island, New Zealand. Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania, Europe, America. Distinguished by the silky shining pileus being marked with concentric zones of various colours. Polystictus velutinus, Fries, Syst. Myc., i, p. 368; Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 178; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 609; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 147; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 5763. Horizontal, attached laterally by a more or less narrowed base, and imbricated, flat, or attached by a more or less central point and remaining flattened; thin, pliant when growing, then rigid, 4–10 cm. across; pileus velvety, indistinctly zoned, dull, dingy-white to pale yellowish-white, sometimes tinged brown; tubes very short; pores subangular, white, minute, often dis-

appearing towards the margin; spores broadly elliptic-oblong, obliquely apiculate, 5–6 × 4 μ. On trunks, stumps, &c. Northern Island, New Zealand. Victoria, Queensland, India, Borneo, Java, Philippines, Japan, Europe, Asiatic Siberia, United States, Cuba, South America. Flaccid when young and growing, shrinking and curling inwards when dried; about 3–4 mm. thick. Allied to Polystictus versicolor, from which the present differs in the dull, opaque—not silkily shining—pileus, which is whitish, and not variegated with zones of deep colours. Polystictus hirsutus, Fries, Syst. Myc., i, p. 367; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 5760. Polyporus hirsutus, Fries, Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 609. Pileus thin, both surfaces almost plane, more or less semicircular in outline, often imbricated, upper surface generally whitish, sometimes tinged yellow, coarsely hispid or strigose, often concentrically zoned, 3–7 cm. across; pores roundish, small, about ⅓ mm., greyish-buff; spores narrowly elliptical, 4–5 × 2 μ. On stumps, dead wood, &c. Middle Island, New Zealand. Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, Europe, Siberia, United States. Differs from Polystictus versicolor and P. velutinus in the coarsely strigose hymenium and the greyish pores. Polystictus tabacinus, Mont., Flor. Juan Fernandez, no. 15; Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 178; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 609; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 5876; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 151. Pilei imbricate, entirely dark-brown, sessile, irregularly semicircular or shell-shaped, concentrically zoned, silky and shining, very thin, rigid, 2–6 cm. long, 2–4 cm. broad; tubes very short, rather small, the dissepiments becoming torn or toothed. On dead wood. Northern Island, New Zealand. New South Wales, Mauritius, Island of Aru, Chili, Juan Fernandez. A very beautiful fungus; flesh very thin, as is the whole fungus; pileus glistening with a silky sheen. Distinguished by the umber-brown colour of every part. Much incurved and very rigid when dry. Polystictus sector, Fries, Epicr., p. 480; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 5900. Pileus 2–4 cm. across, wedge-shaped or fan-shaped, sessile, imbricated, thin, coriaceous, downy, becoming glabrous, zoned, striate, pale-brown; pores shallow, small, brown, sometimes with a tinge of purple, dissepiments thin. On branches, &c. Northern Island, New Zealand. Tasmania, Cuba, Brazil.

Pileus sometimes almost triangular, narrowed behind, tomen-tose when young, margin fibrillose, often densely imbricated. Polystictus adustus, Fries, Hym. Eur., 549; Sacc., Syll. vi. no. 5146; Austr. Fung., p. 123, Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 607. Effuso-reflexed or entirely resupinate, forming large patches 5–25 Cm. across; flesh, thin, whitish, flexible when moist; pileus greyish, downy, indistinctly zoned, often rugulose; tubes very short; pores minute, rounded, whitish, then dingy-grey or lead-colour, blackish when dry, averaging 3–4 to 1 mm. of space; margin sterile, whitish; spores colourless, 4–5 × 2.5 μ. On stumps, &c. New Zealand. Australia, Tasmania, India, Europe, United States, Cuba. Very variable, sometimes entirely resupinate and resembling a Poria, at other times the margin becomes free. Distinguished by the grey pores and white margin. The pores become dark when bruised. Polystictus catervatus, Berk., Fl N.Z., ii, p. 180, tab. cv, fig. 1; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 609; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 5918. Usually densely crowded; pileus about 1 cm. across, fan-shaped or irregularly reniform, margin often lobed or torn, narrowing below into a short, slender, stem-like base, white, silkily fibrillose; pores very shallow, minute, irregular, white; dissepiments thin, edge minutely toothed. On split stems of Podocarpus spicata, Mission Station; on bark, Wellington, New Zealand. Very frequently the adjoining pilei grow together at the margin, and form a continuous membrane. Very thin and delicate, altogether white. An endemic species, and apparently rare. 39. Poria, Pers. Entirely resupinate; flesh usually very thin, attached throughout to the substratum; tubes usually short. Poria, Persoon, Syn., p. 542. In all probability many species included under the present genus may prove to be nothing more than degraded resupinate conditions of species of Fomes, Polystictus, or Polyporus. Poria vaporaria, Fries, Syst. Myc., i, p. 682; Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 180; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 610; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 155; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 6035. Broadly effused, thin, inseparable, the white mycelium penetrating the matrix; pores large, angular or sinuous, white, then cream-colour, forming a continuous stratum.

On dead trunks and branches. Northern Island, New Zealand. Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, Malacca, Ceylon, Europe, North America. Often broadly effused, or almost entirely covering fallen branches, inseparable from the matrix; flesh almost none; pores very variable, large, angular, or sinuous; often irregularly torn and more or less oblique, appearing as if sunk in the matrix, which is usually bark, whitish or pallid, becoming pale-ochraceous when dry. Pores often reaching 1 mm. in diameter. This species is sometimes destructive to worked wood, forming a white, spreading mycelium resembling the early stage of “dry rot.” Poria mollusca, Fries, Syst. Myc., i, p. 384; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 5936; Austr. Fung., p. 153. Effused, thin, soft, white, margin fibrillose and giving off radiating strands; pores very shallow, minute, angular, dissepiments very thin and unequally torn, occupying the central portion of the patch, or scattered here and there in groups, ¼–⅓ mm. diameter. On rotten wood, and on heaps of dead leaves. New Zealand. Victoria, Europe, United States. Sometimes broadly effused; known by the fringed fibrillose margin; the partitions of the pores are very thin, and usually toothed or torn. Sometimes tinged with yellow. At first forming a mere byssoid margin, which gradually acquires moderate, rigid, subrotund and angular pores. Poria hyalina, Berk., in Hooker's Flora Tasm., ii, p. 255 (1860); Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 5938; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 153. Resupinate, very thin, white, more or less hyaline, circumference sterile, membranaceous, margin not byssoid; pores, very shallow, irregular in form, ¼–⅙ mm., dissepiments very thin. On dead wood. New Zealand. Tasmania. Very delicate, not thicker than paper; hymenium becoming much cracked, due to shrinkage during drying. The somewhat broad sterile border remains firmly attached to the matrix. Poria leucoplaca, Berk., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 180; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 609; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 6092. Entirely pure white, resupinate, thin; following the irregularities of the matrix, margin distinctly defined, every part covered by the small pores about ⅓ mm. diameter, dissepiments rather thick, edge pulverulent under a lens; flesh almost none.

On dead branches. Northern Island, New Zealand. Malacca. About 2 mm. thick, forming well - defined white crusts 2–10 cm. long. Poria corticola, Fries, Syst. Myc., i, p. 385; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 6093; Austr. Fung., p. 156. White, then pallid, inseparable, often forming broad; thin, firm patches; not unfrequently more or leas sterile (without pores); pores naked, very shallow, small, roundish. On dead bark. New Zealand. Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Europe, United States, Brazil. Position uncertain. Polyporus diffissus, Berk., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 180; Berk., Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 610. Fleshy, red, at length separating from the matrix, pores small, dissepiments thin, the membranaceous edge minutely toothed. In the charred inside of a Fagus. New Zealand. “Resupinate, effused, fleshy, of a bright red, at length tearing away from the matrix and leaving part of the substance behind; pores small; dissepiments thin; edge membranaceous, slightly toothed. This is probably a resupinate form of some anodermeous species, which has not at present been observed. Its bright colour, however, makes it very remarkable, on which account it is inserted here, though the specimen is by no means in a satisfactory state.” (Berk.) No specimen exists at Kew, hence Berkeley's account, given above, cannot be supplemented. If this should prove to be a good species it would have to be known as Poria difissa. 40. Trimetes, Fries. Pileus corky or woody; tubes penetrating unequally into the flesh of the pileus; pores roundish or more or less elongated radially. Trimetes, Fries, Epicr., p. 488. Trimetes is intermediate between Dœdalea and Fomes, differing from the former in the rounded or only slightly elongated pores, and from the latter in the tubes running up into the flesh of the pileus at different levels. Trimetes epitephra, Berk., Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot.), xiii, p. 165 (1873); Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 6240; Austr. Fung., p. 159. Imbricated; pileus hoof-shaped, with a few more or less prominent ridges, ashy-brown, coarsely velvety; becoming almost

smooth with age, margin whitish, hard, 1–2.5 cm. broad; pores pallid, very much decurrent or running down the bark, more or less elongated, rather large; dissepiments very thick. On trunks and decaying wood. New Zealand. Adelaide, South Australia. Remarkable for the very thick dissepiments or walls separating the pores. Might with almost equal propriety have been placed in the genus Dœdalea. 41. Dædalea, Pers. Pileus woody or corky; pores elongated and irregularly sinuous; dissepiments or walls of tubes thick, flexible. Dædalea, Persoon, Syn., p. 449. Distinguished by the wide labyrinthiform pores, with thick, corky, and elastic walls. Dædalea pendula, Berk., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 180, tab. cv, fig. 4; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 610; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 6394. Imbricated; pileus 3–6 cm. broad and high, sessile, attached by the back and base, pendulous, irregularly cup-shaped, with the opening downwards, thin, flexible, strigose, reddish-grey; hymenium lining the cavity, pinkish-lilac., sparingly and vaguely scattered with tooth-like projections, and irregular shallow pores. On dead wood. Ngawakatatara, New Zealand. “Imbricated, coriaceous. Pilei 1 ½ in. long, pendulous, bursÆ-form, pale reddish-grey, tinged with lilac, sparingly zoned, clothed with short, strigose, matted brown hairs; margin tomentose. Hymenium tinged with lilac and reddish-grey, sparingly porous, with irregular tooth-like dissepiments, which are finely setulose. This, if fully grown, is scarcely a Dædalea in its characters, having more the hymenium of a Radulum; but it is evidently allied to such species as D. unicolor; and though the dissepiments are irregular, there are very evident pores, while in some parts there are as evident teeth. The species is at any rate undescribed, whatever may be thought of the genus.” (Berk.) From the foregoing quotation it will be learned that the fungus under consideration is very imperfectly known, and, as it has not been collected since the type was found by Colenso, much remains to be learnt before its systematic position can be determined with certainty. Dædalea confragosa, Pers., Syn., p. 501; Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 180; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 610; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 6347. Pileus sessile, horizontal, semicircular or subreniform, attached by a stout base, almost flat above, reddish-brown, in-

distinctly zoned, roughened, 4–12 cm. across; flesh pale-wood colour, corky, 1–2 cm. thick at the base, becoming thinner towards the margin; tubes elongated; pores rounded or more frequently elongated and sinuous, grey, then brownish; dissepiments thick, flexible. On dead wood, more especially Salix. Bay of Islands, Northern Island, New Zealand. Europe, United States. Variable in size; the pileus is sometimes rough with large irregular elevations, at others only scabrid. 42. Favolus, Fries. Pileus thin, tough, dimidiate or substipitate; pores large, elongated, extending radially from the point of attachment of the pileus. Favolus, Fries, Elench., p. 44. The pores appear to be formed from radially arranged lamellÆ or gills which anastomose and are connected by numerous lateral ridges. Perhaps most closely allied to Cantharellus, but more woody in texture. Favolus intestinalis, Berk., in Hook. Journ. Bot., iii, p. 167 (1851); Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 610; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 6471. Pileus thin, soft, irregularly reniform, margin variously undulate or lobed, attached by a very short lateral stem, which is sometimes almost obsolete, extending horizontally, 4–7 cm. long, upper surface very delicately pubescent when fresh; pores inferior, large, shallow, polygonal, up to 0.5 cm. across; spores broadly elliptical, hyaline. On dead wood, among moss, &c. Northern Island, New-Zealand. India. Entirely white when fresh, becoming very thin, translucent, and dingy-ochraceous when dry. Berkeley writes as follows of this species, which was described from Indian specimens: “A very singular esculent species, looking like a piece of tripe. The substance dries up so completely that the pores are visible from the upper side, as in some other species.” 43. Laschia, Fries. Subgelatinous and tremelloid, thin, rigid when dry; under surface irregularly honeycomb-like in structure. Laschia, Fries, Linnea, v, p. 533. Distinguished by the flaccid subgelatinous texture, and the irregularly, hexagonal indentations on the under fertile surface; there are frequently protuberances on the upper surface of the pileus corresponding to the indentations on the lower surface.

Laschia thwaitesii, Berk. and Broome, Journ. Lion. Soc. (Bot.), xiv, p. 58; Austr. Fung., p. 167; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 6508. Cæspitose; subgelatinous when moist; pileus convex, often oblique, thin, even, orange or yellowish-ochraceous, very minutely silky when young, 5–8 mm. across; pores rather large, irregular, yellowish; spores elliptical, obliquely apiculate, white, 6–7 × 4 μ; stem variable in length, up to 1.5 cm. long, sometimes very short, slender, whitish. On dead stems of Rhipogonum. Pohangina River, New Zealand. Ceylon, Queensland. A pretty and distinct species, growing mixed with Marasmius subsupinus, Berk., and sent to Kew, along with many other species, by Kirk. The pores are rather irregular, and in some specimens almost resemble gills connected by high transverse ridges. Differs from Marasmius in being subgelatinous when moist. 44. Merulius, Hall. Resupinate, or with the margin more or less free and reflexed; substance usually somewhat soft and inclined to be gelatinous; pores very irregular in form, often formed from slightly raised, wavy, and anastomosing wrinkles. Merulius, Hall., Helv., p. 150. Differs from Poria in consistency and in larger and irregularly formed pores. Some species are destructive parasites; others, as M. lacrymans (“dry rot”), destroy worked wood. Merulius corium, Fries, Elench., p. 58; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 6532; Austr. Fung., p. 168. Effused and resupinate, forming patches 3–10 cm. across, upper margin usually free and reflexed, substance very thin, flexible and tough; pileus whitish, silky; hymenium reticulatoporous, from pale-ochraceous to tan-colour, sometimes tinged lilac; spores oblong, 8–10 × 3–4 μ. On trunks and branches. New Zealand. Australia, Tasmania, India, South Africa, Europe, United States. Substance thin, often separable from the matrix. The hymenium is furnished with very slightly elevated ridges which anastomose to form an irregular reticulation that disappears towards the flat and sterile margin. HydneÆ. The sequence of general form is the same in the present family as in the PolyporeÆ. In the highest types there is a more or less thick or fleshy pileus supported on a central stem; next we descend to species having a lateral stem; then, the sessile

bracket-shaped pileus; and finally to the resupinate condition where the entire fungus forms an incrusting more or less widely extending mass, inseparable from the matrix. The hymenium, instead of consisting of tubes having the inside lined with the hymenium as in the PolyporÆ, consists of closely packed solid spines or teeth, the entire surface of which bears the hymenium. In the genus Hydnum the spines are slender and pointed, or awl-shaped, and vary in length in different species from 3 cm. to less than 1 mm. In other genera, as Radulum, the teeth are more or less flattened, obtuse, and often very irregular in size and form, whereas in some of the simpler resupinate genera, as Grandinia, the teeth are very much reduced, the hymenium being densely covered with very minute warts or granules. The spines or teeth are very often more or less fringed or feathered at the tip when seen under a pocket-lens Representatives of the family are apparently rare in the Southern Hemisphere, the most highly developed species being most abundant in the forests of northern Europe. Some of the large fleshy species are edible. A few species are destructive parasites, attacking timber and fruit-trees. Analysis of the Genera. 45. Hydnum. Spines rounded, acute, distinct from each other at the base. 46. Irpex. Teeth obtuse, springing from anastomosing ridges. 47. Phlebia. Hymenium covered with delicate radiating folds or wrinkles. 48. Grandinia. Hymenium crowded with very minute warts. 45. Hydnum, Linn. Hymenium inferior in stipitate and dimidiate species, superior in resupinate forms, covered with acute spines or teeth that are perfectly free from each other at the base. Hydnum, Linn., Gen. Pl., no. 968. Distinguished from allies by the acute awl-shaped or spine-like teeth arising free from each other. Hydnum clathroides, Pallas, Russ. Reis., p. 2, fig. 3; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 611; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 6683 Entirely grey, very much branched, trunk divided from the base, branches fasciculate and anastomosing laterally to form an irregular network; upper surface of branches papillose, under surface densely crowded with filiform spines 2–3 mm. long. On wood (Knightia sp.). Northern Island, New Zealand. Asiatic Russia.

Specimens imperfect, and identification hence doubtful; Native name, “pekepeke rione” (Coll.). Berk., in N.Z. Fl. Hydnum coralloides, Scop., 2, p. 472; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 6677; Cooke, Austr. Fung., 171. Forming large tufts 5–12 in. across; white, becoming pallid with age; originating from a knob, which at once becomes divided into several tapering, crooked, pendulous branches which are ½ in. or more thick at the base, narrowing to about a line thick at the tip; spines springing from one side of the branches, pendulous, 3–8 lines long, awl-shaped, entire; spores hyaline, globose, 4–6 μ diameter. On rotten wood, inside hollow trunks, &c. New Zealand. Queensland, Europe, Asiatic Siberia, United States. “When old it forms tufts a foot or more in length, with flexuous angular branches, beset with incurved ramuli, bearing spines on the under side.” (Cooke.) Hydnum udum, Fries, Syst. Myc., i, p. 422; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 6795; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 173. Patches thin, effused, inseparable from the matrix, sub-gelatinous, flesh-colour then dull-yellowish; spines crowded, unequal, 2–3 mm. long, awl-shaped or compressed, simple or toothed, coloured like the subiculum. On dead wood. New Zealand. Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania, Europe, United States. Sometimes forming dingily coloured subgelatinous patches several inches long. Yellowish towards the margin when dry, the central part pale-fawn or dingy flesh-colour. Hydnum niveum, Pers., Disp., tab. 4, f. 6–7; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 6815. Entirely resupinate, inseparable from the matrix, very thin and delicate, pure white, becoming pallid when dry, patches 2–8 cm. long; margin delicately byssoid; spines crowded, very minute, equal, glabrous. On dead wood. New Zealand. Europe. A very delicate species, resembling a mere film; spines or teeth very delicate, but under a lens are found to be acute, very uniform in size, glabrous. Hydnum scopinellum, Berk., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 181; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 611; Sacc., Syll. vi. no. 6825. Effused, white, subiculum interwoven; spines tomentose at the base, tips penicillate. On dead wood. “Widely effused; subiculum composed of delicate inter-

woven threads, which make the base of the aculei tomentose, tips penicillate.” The above is the account of the species as given by Berkeley, and as there is no specimen in Berkeley's herbarium I am unable to add to the description. The species is placed in the resupinate section. 46. Irpex, Fries. Pileus dimidiate or resupinate; teeth springing from irregularly arranged ridges or folds. Irpex, Fries, Elench., p. 142. The teeth ate somewhat irregular in form, and not so uniformly spine-like and pointed as in Hydnum. Irpex brevis, Berk., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 181; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 611; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 6887. Sessile, more or less fan-shaped or sometimes attached by a broad base, dimidiate, horizontal or slightly pendulous, about 1 cm. long by 1.5–2.5 cm. broad, very thin; pileus at first whitish, then brownish, more or less zoned and fibrillose; teeth, flattened, often irregularly divided, 2–3 mm. long, pale. On dead bark, often growing among moss. New Zealand. Apparently not uncommon, having been sent to Kew by Colenso on several occasions. An endemic species. Very variable in mode of growth. Sometimes several more or less fan-shaped pilei are crowded in an imbricate manner, at others they extend for a distance of several centimetres, attached by a broad base, the free portion overhanging and slightly drooping. The teeth are often decurrent for some distance below the free portion of the pileus. Finally the fungus is sometimes entirely resupinate, without a trace of free margin anywhere, the central portion being furnished with irregular plates or pores, almost resembling a Poria. 47. Phlebia, Fries. Resupinate; hymenium covering the entire free surface, somewhat gelatinous, everywhere covered with fine radiating wrinkles or folds. Phlebia, Fries, Syst. Myc., i, p. 426. Distinguished by the closely crowded series of corrugation or ridges radiating irregularly from centre to margin of the hymenium. Phlebia reflexa, Berk., in Hook. Journ. Bot., iii, p. 168 (1851); Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 6964; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 176. Densely imbricated or superimposed, reflexed, thin, free portion 2–4 cm. broad, flaccid and tough when moist, rigid

when dry; pileus covered with a dense coat of short down, purplish-brown towards the margin, often greyish-white near the line of attachment, irregularly zoned; hymenium dark-brown, often tinged purple, corrugated behind, almost even towards the margin; spores subglobose, about 4 μ diameter. On logs of Fagus, &c. Northern Island, New Zealand. Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, New Guinea, China, Sikkim, Himalayas, Africa. At first resupinate and spreading widely, but easily detached, then broadly reflexed and dimidiate, 4–6 cm. long, 2–4 cm. broad; very tough and pliant when moist. Distinguished from species of Auricularia by the hymenium being covered with short, irregularly arranged, radiating ribs, giving it a wrinkled or corrugated appearance. 48. Grandinia, Fries. Resupinate; thin, incrusting, hymenium minutely papillose or granulose, covering the entire exposed surface. Grandinia, Fries, Epicr., p. 527. When examined under a low power of the microscope, the tips of the minute granules covering the hymenium are usually found to be indented. Grandinia crustosa, Fries, Epicr., p. 528; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 6973; Austr. Fung., p. 176. White or with a pallid or yellow tinge, irregularly effused, sometimes for several inches, closely adnate, thin, crustaceous, rather mealy at maturity; warts crowded, subglobose, minute, often collapsing at the apex, unequal. On dead bark, wood, and on other fungi. New Zealand. Victoria, Ceylon, Europe. ThelephoreÆ. The fungi constituting this group show less differentiation and division of labour than is observable in the preceding groups. In the simplest forms the entire plant is resupinate or attached to the matrix at every point, and the upper surface is everywhere covered by the hymenium, with the exception of the silky or fibrous margin, which is the youngest or growing portion. When the fungus becomes partly free from the matrix or substance upon which it is growing, then the differentiation of the usually more or less membranous expansion is obvious. The under side, which is turned away from the light, is covered with the hymenium or spore-bearing portion, whereas the upper surface is completely sterile and usually more or less velvet or

hispid. In many of the higher forms, as Stereum, Hymenochœte, &c., the sterile surface or pileus is brightly coloured and zoned. The principal feature of the present group is the even surface of the hymenium, strictly confined to one side of the pileus, and the one-celled or non-septate basidia, as compared with the warts, spines, pores, or gills over which the spore-bearing surface is disposed in other groups. In some of the resupinate species of Corticium and Coniophora, where the flesh of the fungus is very thin, the hymenium often presents a waited or wrinkled surface, but on examination it will be found that this unevenness is due to the very thin substance of the fungus following the irregularities of the wood or other substance upon which it is growing. Among the hymenial elements cystidia are very frequently highly differentiated, and are of importance in fixing the limits of genera. In Peniophora cystidia are very prominent, colourless, and the portion projecting above the general surface of the hymenium often coated with particles of oxalate of lime. In Hymenochœte, on the other hand, the cystidia are very thick-walled, rigid, and coloured brown. In the two genera just mentioned cystidia are so numerous in the hymenium, and project so much above the level of the basidia, that the surface presents a velvety appearance when seen through a pocket-lens. In the most highly developed species there is a distinct central stem supporting a pileus which is usually depressed or funnel-shaped, thus resembling in general build an agaric, differing, however, in the absence of gills on the under surface of the pileus, which is quite even and more or less polished. In some species of Stereum and Lachnocladium the pileus is cut up into numerous narrow strips or shreds, and superficially resembling certain species of Clavaria. In the last-named, however, the hymenium completely surrounds the branches, whereas in Stereum and Lachnocladium one side only of each narrow branch bears the hymenium, the opposite side being sterile and velvety or hairy. Analysis of the Genera. A. Spores coloured. * Spores smooth. 49.Coniophora. Resupinate; surface dry and pulverulent.      Spores warted or echinulate. 50.Thelephora. Substance dry and fibrous; hymenium often irregularly rugulose or nodulose. 51.Soppittitella. Subgelatinous, effused or variously incrusting twigs, grass, &c.

B. Spores colourless. * Hymenium minutely setulose with projecting cystidia. 52.Peniophora. Cystidia colourless. 53.Hymenochæte. Cystidia coloured.      Hymenium glabrous. 54.Corticium. Entirely resupinate; hymenium usually cracked when dry. 55.Stereum. Effuso-reflexed; pileus silky or strigose; hymenium even. 56.Lachnocladium. Erect, narrowed to a stem-like base; pileus cut up into many very narrow segments; fertile on one side only. 57.Craterellus. Large, erect, funnel-shaped. Terrestrial. 58.Cyphella. Minute, cup-shaped, mouth open. On plants. 49. Coniophora, DC. Broadly effused, resupinate, margin determinate or indeterminate; hymenium powdered with the smooth coloured spores; cystidia absent. Coniophora, DC., Flor. Fr., vi, p. 34. Forming broadly expanded, minutely powdery expansions on bark or wood. Coniophora sulphurea, Mass., Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot.), xxv, p. 133; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 196. Syn., Corticium sulphureum, Fries, Epicr., p. 561; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7535. Broadly effused, margin bright sulphur-yellow, often fibrillose and running out in cord-like radiating strands; hymenium thickish, compact, almost waxy, brownish with a yellow tinge, cracking when dry; spores broadly elliptical, brownish-yellow, 11–12 × 8–10 μ. On wood, bark dead leaves, &c. Northern Island, New Zealand. Tasmania, Ceylon, Europe, United States, Cuba. Often sterile, and then very showy, as the mycelium and margin is clear yellow. Often extending for many inches. 50. Thelephora, Ehrh. Varying from central-stemmed, through dimidiate, to resupinate; pileus usually fibrillose or strigose; hymenium usually wrinkled; spores coloured, warted, or echinulate. No cystidia. Thelephora, Ehrh., Crypt., p. 178. Differs from Coniophora in rough spores, which usually have a vinous or pale-purple tinge. Stereum differs in colourless spores.

Thelephora vaga, Berk., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 182; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 611; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7181. Resupinate, variously incrusting, dry, dingy-brown; mycelium byssoid, creeping, loose; spores vinous-brown, irregularly globose, minutely warted, 6–8 μ. On wood, heaps of dead leaves, &c. Ashburton, New Zealand. “It grows under pine-trees, chiefly Pinus insignia. I have observed it growing on bare soil, among beds of dead pine-leaves, which become matted into a mass, and also at the roots of Dactylis glomerata, growing under P. insignis.” (W. W. Smith, Ashburton, New Zealand.) 51. Soppittiella, Mass. Whitish at first, soft and subgelatinous, then becoming rigid, incrusting, form very variable; hymenium collapsing when dry and often tinged brown; spores coloured, spinulose. Soppittiella, Mass., Brit. Fung. Fl., i, p. 106. Distinguished by the soft substance when growing. Often creeping up living tufts of grass or other plants in an irregularly shaped fringed mass. Soppittiella fastidiosa, Mass., Brit. Fung. Fl., i, p. 107 (1892). Thelephora fastidiosa, Berk., Outl., p. 268; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7161. Whitish; forming broadly effused, incrusting, amorphous, or forming irregularly flattened branches; hymenium irregularly papillose, becoming rufescent with age or when bruised; spores broadly elliptical, rough, almost colourless, 6–7 × 4–5 μ. Smell of entire plant very fœtid, especially when bruised. New Zealand. Europe. White, becoming cream-colour, running as a thin soft film over everything in its way, sometimes forming free flattened branches. Silky or byssoid when young. 52. Peniophora, Cooke. Resupinate, or with the extreme margin free and more or less raised; hymenium with projecting colourless spines or cystidia; spores colourless. Peniophora, Cooke, Grev., vii., p. 20. Differs from Hymenochœte in the cystidia being colourless; the projecting portions of the cystidia are often incrusted with particles of lime. Corticium differs in having no cystidia.

Peniophora velutina, Cooke, Grev., viii, p. 21, pl. 125, fig. 15; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7701. Broadly effused, rather fleshy, inseparable, margin running out into long branching strands; hymenium minutely velvety, cream-colour, often slightly tinged with pink or buff; cystidia cylindrical or attenuated upwards, 60–80 × 10–15 μ; spores elliptical with a minute apiculus, 10 × 5 μ. On wood and bark. New Zealand. Europe, United States. Often forming patches 5–10 cm. long. When perfectly developed the hymenium bristles with projecting cystidia when seen under a lens; these are more cylindrical and less incrusted with lime than usual. In some specimens the hymenium is very much cracked, in others quite continuous. The marginal radiating strands of mycelium often extend for many inches and connect several distinct fertile patches. Peniophora ochracea, Mass., Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot.), xxv, p. 150. Syn., Corticium ochraceum, Fries, Epicr., p. 563; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7600. Broadly effused, inseparable, magin radiato-byssoid, soon disappearing; hymenium ochraceous, sparkling with very minute crystals of oxalate of lime when fresh, cracked when dry; cystidia fusoid, 40–60 × 18–22 μ; spores elliptical, hyaline, 10 × 5 μ. On dead bark and wood. New Zealand. Europe, United States. Closely resembling in habit and general appearance, colour, and in the presence of sparkling atoms on the hymenium Coniophora olivacea, but distinguished by the cystidia and smaller colourless spores. Peniophora papyrina, Cooke, Grev., viii, p. 20, pl. 124, fig. 9; Austr. Fung., p. 191, fig. 82; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7688. Syn., Stereum papyrinum, Mont., Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 612. Very broadly effused, margin usually reflexed, very thin, coriaceous, strigose, grey, concentrically grooved, margin acute, tawny; hymenium umber, becoming purplish, minutely velvety; setÆ fusoid, 80–90 × 12–14 μ; spores subglobose, 6 μ diameter. On bark and wood. Northern Island, New Zealand. Cuba. Forming broadly effused, very thin patches, which follow the irregularities of the bark.

53. Hymenochœte, Lév. Pileus with a central stem, dimidiate or entirely resupinate; hymenium minutely setulose with projecting coloured cystidia; spores hyaline or coloured. Hymenochœte, Lév., Ann. Sci. Nat., ser. 3, 1846, p. 150. Distinguished at once by the numerous brown cystidia projecting from the surface of the hymenium. These can be easily seen with an ordinary pocket-lens. Hymenochœte tabacina, Lév., Ann. Sci. Nat., ser. 3, vol. v, p. 152; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7428; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 189; Mass., Mon. The]., Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot.), xxvii, p. 112; Mass., Brit. Fung. Fl., i, p. 117. Subcoriaceous, thin, flaccid when moist, margin often reflexed, silky below, at length smooth, subferruginous, intermediate stratum and margin bright golden-yellow; hymenium cinnamon or rusty, usually with a tinge of purple, often cracked, minutely velvety; cystidia conico-acuminate, coloured, 80–130 × 10–14 μ; spores elliptical, olive, 5–6 × 3 μ. On trunks, branches, &c. New Zealand. Victoria, New South Wales, Malacca, Europe, North and South America. Distinguished by the golden-yellow margin of the hymenium and the coloured spores. Sometimes almost completely covering the under surface of fallen logs. When moist dirty ferruginous passing to mulberry-colour, rigid when dry, adnate, margin more or less free all round, often lobed, or free and reflexed above, rugulose. Hymenium often cracked when dry in lines radiating from the centre, or from several starting-points in broadly effused specimens. Hymenochœte rhabarbarina, Cooke, Grev., viii, p. 148; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7467. Syn., Corticium rhabarbarinum, Berk., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 184. Effused, inseparable, hymenium minutely velvety, rusty-orange, margin paler, indeterminate, 8–12 cm. broad; setÆ acuminate, 30–40 × 7–9 μ; spores pale-olive, oblong-ellipsoid, 8 × 4 μ. On bark. Northern Island, New Zealand. The present species proves to be a true Hymenochœte, having the hymenium furnished with projecting acute setÆ or cystidia. Hymenochœte kalchbrenneri, Mass., Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot.), xxvii, p. 116; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 190. Resupinate, rather dingy brown throughout, submembranaceous, broadly effused, loosely adnate to the matrix, margin

rather well defined, wavy; hymenium minutely velvety; spores elliptical, hyaline, 7 × 5 μ; setÆ cylindrical or subclavate, often rough, 80–90 × 6–8 μ. On dead trunks. New Zealand. Victoria, Queensland. There is sometimes a violet tinge on the hymenium. The entire plant is sometimes almost separable from the matrix. Hymenochœte phœa, Mass., Mon. Thel., Journ. Linn. Soc., xxvii, p. 98 (1891); Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 188. Syn., Stereum phœum, Berk., Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 612. Pileus dimidiate, sessile, thin, coriaceous, flexible, zoned, velvety, bay, concentrically grooved, the grooves forming corresponding ridges on the rust-coloured minutely setulose hymenium, 6–10 cm. broad; setÆ scattered, conico-acuminate, 30–50 × 6–7 μ; spores subglobose, 4 × 3 μ. On bark and wood. Northern Island, New Zealand. Tasmania. Laterally attached, usually by a broad base, concentrically grooved, blackish-umber when dry; strigose with alternating dark and pale zones, margin crisped; hymenium umber. Hymenochœte mougeotii, Mass., Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7449; Austr. Fung., p. 189. Broadly spreading, forming conspicuous blood-red or dull-red thin patches, sometimes there is an indication of a tinge of purple; closely adnate, margin determinate, dry, very minutely velvety under a lens, cracking when old and dry; cystidia conical, coloured, 30–75 × 5–8 μ; spores elliptic-fusoid, olive, 6–7 × 3–5 μ. On dead trunks of pine and other wood. New Zealand. Victoria, Tasmania, Ceylon, India, central Europe. Distinguished by the bright colour of the hymenium. The patches are sometimes 20–30 cm. long. 54. Corticium, Fries. Entirely resupinate, or rarely with the extreme margin free; hymenium smooth, waxy, polished, becoming variously cracked when dry; spores colourless. Corticium, Fries, Epicr., p. 556. Forming resupinate inseparable patches on wood, bark, &c. *Hymenium dingy flesh-colour. Corticium nudum, Fries, Epicr., p. 564; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7609; Austr. Fung., p. 194. Often forming thin patches 3–7 cm. long, waxy, margin determinate, glabrous; hymenium flesh-colour, becoming pale,

cracked when dry, minutely pulverulent under a lens; spores elliptical, 12–13 × 4 μ. On dead bark. New Zealand. Queensland, South Africa, Europe. Distinguished by the pale-flesh-coloured minutely pulverulent hymenium. Corticium polygonium, Fries, Hym. Eur., p. 655; Berk., Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p, 613; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7611. Closely adnate, inseparable, outline sharp, extreme margin byssoid, soon becoming hard and rigid, 5–10 cm. broad; hymenium dingy flesh-colour, primrose, usually much cracked or nodulose; spores narrowly elliptical, 14–16 × 5–7 μ. On dead bark and wood. Northern Island, New Zealand. Europe, United States. Usually extending under the form of small, distinct, Tubercularia - like pustules, which eventually usually become confluent, thick, separating from each other more or less when dry; giving the patch a cracked or tesellated appearance; sometimes continuous, and then the surface is more or less tuberculose; margin thin, adnate, byssoid; hymenium primrose, pinkish, black, or dingy-ochraceous. Hymenium white at first, sometimes becoming pale-tan or pale-rose colour. Corticium auberianum, Montag., Crypt. Cuba, p. 372; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7552; Austr. Fung., p. 194. Closely adnate, at first orbicular, several patches soon becoming confluent or growing into each other and forming broadly extended patches, 5–10 cm. long and broad, very thin, at first snow-white and minutely primrose, finally glabrous and tinged with dingy-yellow or grey, finely crooked when dry; margin persistently minutely floccose or fibrillose; spores elliptical, 6–7 × 4 μ. On bark, &c. New Zealand. Australia, Patagonia, Cuba, United States. Readily distinguished by the hymenium, which is snow-white and primrose when young. When the fungus is old it sometimes partly peels away from the matrix. Corticium, albidum, Mass. Syn., Aleurodiscus albidus, Mass., Grev., xvii, p. 55; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 193, fig. 83. At first concave, rather fleshy, white, outside and margin tomentose, at first incurved then becoming extended and flattened, up to 6 mm. diameter, often confluent and forming rather large patches; hymenium white, minute mealy, cracking slightly when dry; spores elliptical, 10–12 × 9 μ.

On branches. Northern Island, New Zealand. Queensland. This species was at first incorrectly determined as Aleurodiscus oakesii. The last-named is not known to occur in New-Zealand. Corticium scutellare, Berk. and Curt., Grev., ii, p. 4; Brit. Fung. Fl., i, p. 121; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7647. Broadly effused, thin, quite inseparable from the matrix, margin indistinct, whitish, then dirty pale-tan-colour or tawny, waxy, smooth, very much cracked into polygonal portions, interstices white, silky; spores elliptical, 5 × 3 μ. On wood, dead herbaceous stems, &c. Recognised by the brownish areolately cracked hymenium, and small spores. Corticium leve, Pers., Disp., p. 30; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7530; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 194; Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 184; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 613. Forming very thin patches from 5–10 cm. in diameter; hymenium smooth and with a more or less polished appearance, old-ivory colour often suffused with a flesh-colour or rosy tinge, becoming cracked when dry, the interstices silky, margin byssoid; spores elliptical, often slightly curved, 10–12 × 6–7 p. On dead wood and bark. Northern Island, New Zealand. Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, Ceylon, Europe, North and South America. Some forms of this species closely resemble, superficially, Peniophora rosea, but can at once be recognised under the microscope, or even under a pocket-lens, by the absence of projecting cystidia in the hymenium. Hymenium tinged green. Corticium viride, Berk., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 184; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 613. Olive-green, crustaceous, effused, cracked; margin very thin, membranous, scarcely byssoid, livid; spores large, elliptic or subglobose. On dead bark and wood. Northern Island, New Zealand. Effused, forming small confluent patches of a yellow olivaceous green, with a very thin, membranous, scarcely byssoid, livid margin; hymenium cracked; spores subglobose or elliptic, very large 1/1750 in. long (= about 14 μ). Analogous to Hydnum viride. When old it acquires a darker tinge. There is no specimen of this species at Kew.

Corticium terreum, Berk., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 184. C. terreum, Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 613. Examination of the type specimen at Kew shows this to be an immature specimen of some Thelephora. 55. Stereum, Pers. Pileus with a central stem, or dimidiate and imbricated; pileus silky or strigose; hymenium smooth; spores colourless (rarely tinged with colour). Stereum, Persoon, Obs. Myc., p. 35. The leading features of the present genus are the smooth or glabrous hymenium, and the velvety or strigose pileus. Some species are destructive wound-parasites, attacking forest trees. *Pileus supported on a central stem. Stereum sowerbeii, Berk., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 182; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 612; Mass., Brit. Fung. Fl., i, p. 129. Syn., Elvella pannosa, Sowerby, Fung., tab. 155. White; pileus funnel-shaped 2–2.5 cm. across, rough with projecting points, but not velvety, margin variously incised; stem up to 1 cm. long, central; spores elliptical, 5 × 3 μ, hyaline. On the ground. Northern Island, New Zealand, Tasmania, Australia, Britain, United States. A very beautiful species, snow-white, tinged with pale-buff when old, and of a waxy appearance when fresh; sometimes with a distinct round stem ½ in. or more in height, at others several plants grow close together, having their stems more or less confluent at the base. It has no relationship with Cladoderris, as suggested by Fries in Sum. Veg. Scand., p. 332. Pileus attached laterally. Stereum lobatum, Fries, Epicr., p. 547; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7311; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 612; Austr. Fung., p. 184 (all in part). Syn., Stereum luteo-badium, Fr.; Stereum boryanum, Fr.; Stereum ostrea, Nees; Stereum sprucei, Berk.; Stereum perlatum, Berk. Sessile, often imbricated or running on horizontally, pilei sessile sometimes fan-shaped and fixed by the narrow portion, horizontal, margin entire or variously lobed, thin, rigid, upper sterile surface tomentose or minutely velvety, orange or brownish, with darker concentric bands of colour, becoming glabrous towards the margin; hymenium usually bright ochraceous, sometimes duller, and verging on a greyish tint; 8–15 cm. across; spores subglobose, 5–6 μ diameter.

On trunks, fallen timber, &c. Middle and Northern Islands, New Zealand. Widely distributed, especially in tropical and subtropical countries both in the Old and New World. A variable species both in size, colour, and amount of rugosity of the pileus, but readily distinguished by the thin rigid substance; velvety zoned pileus, and smooth ochraceous or greyish hymenium. Stereum lobatum, Fries, Epicr., p. 547; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 612; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7311; Austr. Fung., p. 184. Syn., Stereum perlatum, Berk., in Hook. Journ. iv, 1842, p. 153; Stereum sprucei, Berk., Journ. Linn. Soc., x, p. 331; Stereum luteo-badium, Fr., Epicr., p. 547; Stereum boryanum, Fr., Epicr., p. 547; Stereum ostrea, Nees, Nov. Act. Nat. Cur., xiii, p. 13, pl. 2. Pileus thin, rigid, umbonato-sessile, coriaceous, tomentose, usually ochraceous and often zoned with bay, margin almost glabrous, 10–40 cm. across; hymenium smooth, even, pallid; spores subglobose, 5–6 μ. On dead wood. Northern and Middle Islands, New Zealand. Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, New Guinea, Philippines, India, Ceylon, Bourbon, Malay Peninsula, Java, Malacca, Surinam, Seychelles, southern United States, Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, Venezuela, Madagascar, Peru, Mauritius. A widely distributed and variable species, distinguished by its large size, thin substance, and pale dull-yellow hymenium. The margin is often variously lobed. Stereum cinereo-badium, Klotzsch, Nov. Act., 19, tab. v, fig. 3; Hook., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 182; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7337. Pileus dimidiate, sessile, robust, coriaceous, tomentose, margined, chestnut-brown, zones smooth, black; hymenium smooth, glaucous, flesh-coloured. On dead wood. Northern Island, New Zealand. South America. An imperfectly known species. There is no specimen in the Kew Herbarium from New Zealand or elsewhere. Entirely resupinate, or with the margin only more or less free. Stereum illudens, Berk., in Hook. Journ., iv, p. 59; Sacc., Syll. vi, no, 7329; Austr. Fung., p. 185. Effused on the matrix, the upper part free, horizontal, margin usually crisped and wavy, substance very thin, coriaceous, rigid when dry; upper surface of pileus coarsely velvety, brown, often with paler zones, radially plicate, 2–6 cm. long, 2–3 cm.

wide; hymenium even, smooth, rufous or brown; spores elliptical, 6–7 × 4 μ. On dead logs, branches, &c. New Zealand. Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western and South Australia, Venezuela. A characteristic Australasian species, distinguished by the dark, hairy, waved pileus and dark-coloured hymenium. Stereum pannosum, Cooke, Grev., viii, p. 56. Pileus coriaceous, becoming rigid when dry, effused, the upper portion free and reflexed, 3–6 cm. across, sterile surface dingy - grey, indistinctly zoned, hirsute; hymenium glabrous, dingy - grey, becoming primrose, cracked when dry; spores elliptical, 5–6 × 3–4 μ. On dead bark. New Zealand. At present only known from New Zealand. Effused, free margin often torn or split. Distinguished by the dingy-grey or dull-lead colouring of every part. Stereum illudens differs in brown tinge of every part, and S. lugubre in the blackish papillose hymenium. Stereum lugubre, Cooke, Grev., xii, p. 85. Coriaceous, rigid; pileus effused and reflexed, about 2.5 cm. deep, tomentose, zoned, cinereous, becoming pallid, zones darker; margin rather acute, pallid; hymenium somewhat papillose, smooth, naked, black. On logs. New Zealand. A very distinct species by its black obtusely papillate hymenium. Pileus about 1 in. deep, often densely imbricated and extending laterally several inches. There is no specimen of this species present in the Kew Herbarium, hence I am unable to supplement Cooke's original diagnosis, reproduced above. Stereum rugosum, Fries, Epicr., p. 552; Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 183; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 612; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7336; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 187. Broadly effused, sometimes shortly reflexed, coriaceous, becoming thickish and rigid, sterile surface at length smooth, brownish; hymenium pale greyish-yellow, primrose, becoming red when cut or bruised; spores cylindrico-elliptical, straight, 11–12 × 4–6 μ. On bark and dead wood; sometimes growing on living trees and proving to be a very destructive parasite. Northern Inland, New Zealand. Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia, Europe, North and South America. Very variable in form, wholly adnate, partly reflexed, or

sometimes almost saucer-shaped and attached by a central point when young. Agrees with Stereum sanguinolentum in becoming red when bruised, but distinguished by the thicker rigid substance and in the larger straight spores. The hymenium is sometimes pale-yellow, at others greyish or livid Stereum vellereum, Berk., in Hook. Fl. N.Z., p. 183; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 612; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 184; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7367. Resupinate with the margin free, or fan-shaped, attached by a narrow base, and imbricated, thin, 2–5 cm. across, greyish, velvety, margin zoned and often lobed; hymenium ochraceous, even, glabrous; spores subglobose, 4–5 μ diameter. On branches and twigs. Northern and Middle Islands, New Zealand. Victoria, Singapore, north-west Himalaya. Usually growing on small branches, and then resembling Hymenochœte tabacina in habit, with broad, free, more or less lobed wings; substance thin; when growing on thick branches or logs, often imbricated and narrowed at the base. Resembling Stereum hirsutum in colour and habit, hut thinner and with different spores. Stereum hirsutum, Fries, Epicr., p. 549; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 612; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7288; Austr Fung., p. 185 Entirely resupinate, or more frequently with a free margin which is often more or less lobed or wavy; pileus coarsely strigose, 3–8 cm. broad, dingy-ochraceous, becoming pale and greyish, indistinctly zoned, thin and coriaceous; hymenium even, glabrous, naked, ochraceous or tan-colour; spores elliptical, 6 μ long. On trunks and branches. Northern and Middle Islands, New Zealand. Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia, Java, India, North and South America. Very variable in form. When growing on a broad surface often wholly resupinate or with a very narrow free margin. On smaller branches there is often a broad, free, reflexed portion, or several such overlapping. Pileus coarsely velvety or strigose; hymenium usually bright ochraceous, often with varying shades of pink or grey. Stereum ochroleucum, Fries, Hym. Eur., p. 639; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7283; Austr. Fung., p. 186. Syn., Corticium ochroleucum, Fries, Epicr., p. 557; Berk., Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 613. Coriaceous, thickish, separable from the matrix, sometimes entirely resupinate, at others more or less free round the margin,

or almost entirely free and fixed by a broad effused base, flaccid, silky, dingy - ochraceous, 8–15 cm. broad; hymenium even, glabrous, pale - ochraceous, cracked when dry; spores broadly elliptical, 8 × 6–7 μ. On dead wood and bark. Middle Island, New Zealand. Queensland, Tasmania, India, Europe, North America, Cuba, Venezuela. Ochraceous, villose or strigose, often becoming bald when old; sometimes broadly effused and entirety adnate, in others the margin only free and upturned, in others again quite free and fixed by a narrow base. It is not unusual to meet with all transitions from entirely adnate to the flabelliform condition on the same trunk. Hymenium pale-ochre, smooth, cracked, especially when dry; the latter character separates it from Stereum hirsutum, and also from Corticium, which the adnate form resembles superficially. Stereum latissimum, Berk., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 183: Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 613; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7419. Forming broad, very thin, chalk-white patches, minutely subtomentose, margin abrupt. On bark. Northern Island, New Zealand. Forming patches many inches in length and breadth, very thin, following all the inequalities of the matrix, chalk-white; under the lens very minutely subtomentose; margin abrupt, by no means byssoid. An imperfectly described species of which no type specimen is known to exist. 56. Lachnocladium, Lév. Stipitate, much branched, branches narrow, one side tomentose and sterile, the other covered with the smooth hymenium; spores colourless. Lachnocladium, Lév., in Orb. Dict., viii, p. 487. Closely allied to Stereum, differing mainly in the much-divided pileus. Superficially resembling some species of much-branched Clavaria; differing in the tougher texture and in the hymenium being confined to one side of the branches. Lachnodadium flagelliforme, Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 179, fig. 79. Syn., Clavaria flagelliformis, Berk., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 186; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 614; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 8018. Very much branched, divided to the base or nearly so, branches tufted, cylindrical, fastigiate, forked, tips acute, and

undivided; spores hyaline, broadly elliptical, 5 × 3.5 μ. Entire fungus dingy-white or pale-brown, 4–5 cm. high. On the ground, probably springing from buried twigs. Bay of Islands, Northern Island, New Zealand. 57. Craterellus, Fries. Terrestrial. Plant altogether more or less funnel-shaped, hymenium covering the outside of the funnel, glabrous, smooth or rugulose. Craterellus, Fries, Epicr., p. 531 Resembling superficially some species of Cantharellus; the latter, however, are distinguished by the presence of narrow, thick, irregularly forked gills running down the outside of the pileus. Craterellus insignis, Cooke, Grev., xix, p. 2; Sacc., Syll. ix, no. 880. Erect, more or less tufted, sometimes grown together, 3–4 cm. long, about 2.5 cm. broad; pileus fan - shaped, tan - colour, irregularly striate, margin lobed and wavy, flesh thin; hymenium waxy, rugulose, darker than the pileus; stem slender, expanding upwards into the pileus, tan-colour; spores elliptical, tinged brown, 2–5-3 × 1.5 μ. On dead trunks. New Zealand. Resembling in general appearance some of the central-stemmed species of Stereum, but differing in the soft fleshy consistency 58. Cyphella, Fries. Minute; cup-shaped, mouth not contracted, often narrowed into a stem-like base; hymenium internal; outside velvety or downy. Cyphella, Fries, Syst. Myc., ii, p. 201. Minute, often clustered; resembling in habit a small Peziza. Cyphella densa, Berk., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 184; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 614; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7837. Gregarious, obliquely funnel-shaped, fawn-coloured, pendulous, attached by a short narrow stem-like base, very minutely pilose, flexible; hymenium lining the inside of the funnel, smooth, even; spores broadly elliptical, hyaline, 7 × 5 μ. On living bark of Corynocarpus. Cape Kidnappers, Northern Island, New Zealand. The pilei are obliquely funnel-shaped or more exactly resemble the head of any ordinary clay pipe, suspended by a very short stem. A very fine endemic species.

Cyphella filicicola, Berk. and Curt., Grev., ii, p. 5 (1873); Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7898. Scattered, sessile but attached by a narrowed base, more or less pendulous, obliquely funnel-shaped, often irregular in form, umber or brownish, externally minutely downy under a lens, 2–3 mm. long. On dead fern-stems. New Zealand. Carolina, United States. Shaped like the bowl of a smoking-pipe, and attached by a very short stem, or, rather, the narrowed base of the head of the pipe, the cavity pointing downwards. Cyphella albo-violascens, Karst., Fung. Fenn. Exs., no. 715; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7817; Austr. Fung., p. 196. Gregarious, sessile, 1–3 mm. diameter, globose and closed when young, then hemispherical, externally snow-white and densely downy; hymenium even, more or less tinged with violet; spores colourless, elliptical, usually slightly inœquilateral, 12–15 × 8–9 μ. On wood, bark, twigs, &c. New Zealand. Australia, Cape of Good Hope, Europe, South America, United States. Resembling a minute downy Peziza, for which it was mistaken by early authors. Often proliferous; hymenium and margin becoming blackish. ClavarieÆ. An entire absence of differentiation into a sterile (pileus) and fertile (hymenium) surface respectively, and the even hymenium, are the characteristic features of the present group. In the simpler forms the hymenophore is club-shaped, every portion of the club being fertile or covered with the hymenium. In other species the club becomes more or less divided, whereas in numerous species the fertile portion is broken up into numerous branches, the whole resembling a much-branched tree or coral in miniature. The species are usually small, often brightly coloured, and with few exceptions grow on the ground. All the species are edible. Some of the minute species spring from sclerotia, and amongst these are parasites on various cultivated plants; but the injury caused by members of the Clavarieœ is practically a negligible quantity. Analysis of the Genera. 59.Clavaria. Soft and fleshy, simple or much branched, branches terete, axils usually rounded. 60.Pistillaria. Minute, club-shaped, simple, rigid and horny when dry.

59. Clavaria, Fries. Sporophore erect, club-shaped or fusiform, or variously and often excessively branched, axils of branches often rounded; spores colourless or coloured. Basidia two- or four-spored. Clavaria, Fries, Syst. Myc., i, p. 465. Usually terrestrial, rarely growing on wood. Calocera superficially resembles the branched species of Clavaria, but differs in the partly gelatinous consistency and different structure of the basidia. Lachnocladium differs in tough consistency and in the branches being flattened and having the hymenium on one side only. *Spores ochraceous or yellow. Clavaria flaccida, Fries, Syst. Myc., i, p. 471; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 615; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7972. Slender, very much branched, entirely ochraceous, stem very short, branches crowded, repeatedly forked, upper axils rounded and the acute terminal branchlets converging; spores broadly elliptical, ochraceous, 4–5 × 3 μ. On the ground in woods among moss, &c. Sometimes growing on masses of dead leaves, &c. Northern Island, New Zealand. Europe. Varying from 2–5 cm. high; colour clear ochraceous without any tinge of brown; does not become green when bruised; terminal branchlets converging like callipers; mycelium whitish, creeping over leaves, &c.; stem sometimes 2 cm. long, at others almost obsolete. Clavaria crispula, Fries, Syst. Myc., i, p. 470; Hdbk, N.Z. Flora, p. 615; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7991; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 201. Pale yellow-brown or tan-colour, becoming ochraceous; stem rather slender, with downy rooting strands of mycelium, 4–7 cm. high; branches numerous, wavy, spreading, repeatedly dividing, terminal branchlets acute, spreading; spores pale-yellow, elliptical, 5 × 3 μ. On the ground, at base of trunks, &c. Northern Island, New Zealand. Western Australia, Europe, United States, Brazil. Stem thin; branches numerous, lax, rather wavy or flexuous. Spores hyaline. Clavaria flava, Schæffer, Fung. Bavar., tab. 175; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7929; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 198. Syn., Clavaria, lutea, Hook., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 185; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 614. Stem stout, short, white, breaking up into numerous rounded, tapering, crowded, even-topped, yellow branches,

8–14 cm. high; spores elliptical, hyaline or with a slight tinge of yellow, 8–10 × 4–5 μ. On the ground, in woods. New Zealand. Victoria, Queensland, Europe, United States. Edible, as are all known species of Clavaria. Brittle; stem often 2–3 cm. thick; forming dense tufts of crowded branches; yellow colour usually most pronounced at the tips of the branches. Clavaria arborescens, Berk., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 186; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, 614; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 8022. Amethyst-colour; stem slightly wavy, 2–3 cm. high, slightly thickened upwards, slender, dividing at the apex into a few main branches that bear short fastigiate branchlets at their tips; spores hyaline, elliptical, 6 × 4 μ. On the ground. Bay of Islands, Northern Island, New Zealand. Berkeley considers this species as showing affinity with Clavaria macropus. To me it appears to resemble a slender form of C. cinerea. Clavaria colensoi, Berk., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 186; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 615; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 8039; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 201. Stem compressed, short, breaking up into several primary branches, which in turn become inflated at the apex and bear several slender secondary branchlets divided at the acute tips, 2–3 cm. high; spores elliptical, 5x 3 μ. On dead wood and on the ground. Northern Island, New Zealand. Queensland. All the branches have a tendency to become flattened, axils of branches rounded. The swollen apices of the branches are sometimes more or less excavated and the branchlets originate from the margin of the cup. No account is given in the original description as to the colour of the plant. The following is Berkeley's description of this species: About 1 in. high, attached to the soft decayed wood by a few short towy fibres, which, like the whole plant, are brown when dry. Stem mostly compressed, branched from the base or a little above it, repeatedly forked; branches sub-fastigiate, delicate; apices forked, very acute. Closely allied to C. delicata, but the brown fibres by which it is attached, and other points, forbid its association with that species, of which I have authentic specimens from Fries.” (Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 186.)

Clavaria mucida, Pers, Comm., tab. 2, fig. 3; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 8125; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 203. Gregarious but not usually tufted, simple or sparingly branched, branches linear, tip sometimes cristate or divided into fine short branchlets, white or with a tinge of yellow or rose, surface even, 1–2 cm. high, slender; spores hyaline, averaging 6 × 3 μ. On wet rotten wood. New Zealand. New South Wales, Europe, United States. Clavaria contorta, Holmsk, Ot. i, p. 29. Erumpent; in clusters of 2–5 specimens, simple, stuffed, variously twisted, contorted, and wrinkled, primrose, yellowish, often with a red or brown tinge, about 1 in. high; spores white, subglobose, about 4–5 μ diameter. On fallen branches. New Zealand. Europe, United States. Easily known by growing on wood, and in being erumpent, or bursting through the bark Clavaria pusio, Berk., Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 185; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 614; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 8017. Stem slender, thickened upwards, where it divides into a few cylindrical acute branches equal in length to the stem and spreading at an acute angle, rarely divided, 1.5–3 cm. high; spores elliptical, hyaline. On the ground. Northern Island, New Zealand. The colour is brownish when dry, but it is probably paler or whitish when fresh. Clavaria inœqualis, Flor. Dan., p. 74, fig. 4; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 615; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 8069; Austr. Fung., p. 202. Yellow, gregarious or fasciculate, fragile, stuffed, clavate, apex obtuse, simple or sometimes forked, 4–7 cm. high; spores elliptical, colourless, 9–10 × 5 μ. Among grass and moss. Bay of Islands, Northern Island, New Zealand. Tasmania, New South Wales, Victoria, Europe, United States, Ceylon. Scattered or in small loose tufts, clubs clavate or cylindrical; apex obtuse, sometimes forked or variously cut and divided, sometimes compressed, but not distinctly apiculate, and brown. Clavaria misella, Berk. and Curt., Journ. Linn. Soc. (Bot.), x, p. 339; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 8139. Entirely white, simple or rarely with a single branch springing from near the base, slightly clavate, quite slender, 1–2 cm. high, base somewhat spongy; spores hyaline, subglobose, about 4 μ diameter.

Growing on living moss. Middle Island, New Zealand. Cuba. Becoming opaque and remaining even when dry, which, in addition to the different spores, distinguish it from Clavaria paupercula, Berk. and Curt., a small species also growing on moss. 60. Pistillaria, Fries. Minute, club-shaped, simple, becoming cartilaginous when dry. Pistillaria, Fries, Hym. Eur., p. 686. Very closely allied to Clavaria, if distinct as a genus. Differing mainly in minute size, and in becoming cartilaginous and rigid when dry. Pistillaria ovata, Fries, Syst. Myc., i, p. 497; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 615; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 8259. Club obovate or ellipsoid, often more or less compressed, sometimes slightly lobed, white, hollow; stem short, glabrous, pellucid; entire plant 3–7 mm. high; spores elliptical, 7–8 × 3–5 μ. On dead leaves, herbaceous stems, &c. Northern Island, New Zealand. Europe. Variable in size and form, but always minute; distinguished by the short, polished, hyaline stem. TremellineÆ. The members of this group are characterized by the more or less gelatinous nature of the entire fungus when growing. During the process of drying the plant shrinks very much, and becomes hard and horny, expanding and becoming gelatinous again when soaked in water. As representing the simplest structure presented by the Basidiomycetes, the basidia depart from what may be termed the normal or typical form in various genera. In Dacryomyces the basidium is cylindrical, with two much elongated and stout sterigmata at its apex. In this genus the spores are septate. In Tremella the basidium is stout and broadly clavate or obpyriform, with four stout sterigmata at its apex. When the sterigmata are just commencing growth the basidium, viewed from above, shows two apparent lines crossing at right angles, and the basidium has been spoken of as cruciate. This appearance is caused by the bases of the four incipient sterigmata. In the genera Auricularia, Hirneola and Septobasidium the basidia are transversely septate, each cell bearing a single spore. This form of basidium agrees morphologically with the sporophores in the Uredineœ, with which, according to Brefeld, the Basidiomycetes are allied.

Analysis of the Genera. *Basidia subglobose, longitudinally quadripartite in a cruciate manner at maturity, and producing at the apex four elongated sterigmata. 61.Exidia. Cup-shaped or variously lobed; spores sausage-shaped curved; sterile surface minutely velvety. 62.Tremella. Brain-like or variously lobed and contorted; spores globose or ovoid. 63.Næmatelia. Firm, convex, with a central firm nucleus. **Basidia cylindrical or clavate, divided at the apex into two long sterigmata. 64.Dacryomyces. Small, pulvinate, gyrose. 65.Guepinia. Irregularly cup-shaped or flabellate; hymenium on one surface only, the other sterile and silky. 66.Calocera. Erect, simple or branched, subcylindrical. ***Basidia elongated or fusoid, transversely septate, each cell producing one spore. 67.Auricularia. Broadly attached, effuso-reflexed, upper surface sterile and strigose. 68.Hirneola. Cartilaginous, human-ear shaped, attached by a narrow point, sterile surface minutely velvety. 69.Septobasidium. Resupinate, not gelatinous but leathery. 61. Exidia, Fries. Inflated, tremelloid, marginate or vaguely effused, often minutely papillose, black or dusky. Exidia, Flies, Syst. Myc., ii, p. 224. Forming irregular subgelatinous masses on dead wood and branches. The spores become 1—many septate on germination, each cell of the spore giving origin to a very short promycelium, bearing a cluster of strongly curved sporidiola. Exidia albida, Bref., Unters. Mykol., vii., p. 94, pl. v, fig. 14; Sacc., Syll. vi. no. 8352; Austr. Fung., p. 207. Syn., Tremella albida, Huds. Gelatinous, bursting through cracks in bark and wood, under the form of wavy or contorted heaps 1–3 cm. across; white at first, soon becoming dingy-yellow or brown; when mature primrose, with the dense mass of spores resting on the surface; spores oblong, slightly curved, 16–20 × 5–7 μ. On dead branches, &c. New Zealand. Australia, Tasmania, Europe, United States. Very soft and gelatinous, form irregularly lobed, soon deliquescing. 62. Tremella, Dill. Gelatinous, tremelloid, immarginate, generally smooth (not papillose nor rugulose), variously lobed and contorted, often bright-coloured. Tremella, Dill, Hist. Musc., p. 41. Forming foliaceous variously contorted gelatinous masses

oozing out of dead wood, branches, &c.; spores subglobose, continuous, on germination the germ-tube bears numerous broadly elliptical sporidiola. In some species dense racemes of conidia are produced in the substance of the gelatinous sporophore previous to or contemporaneous with the formation of basidiospores. Tremella lutescens, Pers., Syn., p. 622; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 8377; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 208. Very soft and gelatinous, lobes crowded, entire, wavy, pallid then yellowish, 2–8 cm. diameter; spores subglobose, 12–16 μ. diameter; conidia globose, 1.5–2 μ diameter. On fallen and rotten trunks and branches. New Zealand. Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, South Africa, Europe, North America, Brazil. The conidia are produced at the tips of densely corymbose branches buried in the gelatinous substance of the fungus. 63. Nœmatelia, Fries. Subgelatinous, convex, pallid, with a firm central white nucleus. Nœmatella, Fries, Syst. Myc., ii, p. 227. Readily distinguished by the presence of a firm, solid, white central nucleus, around which the subgelatinous sporiferous portion is spread, forming a convex body when extended. In some species the external gelatinous layer contracts and disappears when dry, the white nucleus alone being visible. The original structure, however, returns when the specimen is immersed in water. Næmatelia nucleata, Fries, Syst. Myc., ii, p. 227; Sacc., Syll. vi, no, 8450. Sessile, depressed, gelatinous, more or less contorted, almost translucent, with a central, white, opaque, hard mass, 0.5–1 cm. across; spores broadly elliptical, hyaline, 7 μ long. On damp rotten wood. New Zealand. Britain, southern United States. Quite glairy and soft when moist; when dry the outermost gelatinous portion contracts, the white nucleus alone being visible. 64. Dacryomyces, Nees. Gelatinous, homogeneous, more or less contorted, often bright-coloured; spores simple or septate. Dacryomyces, Nees, Syst., p. 89. Minute gelatinous fungi occurring on dead wood, often yellow or orange; spores cylindric-oblong, curved, often one or more septate at maturity or during germination, sometimes even

becoming muriform. Chains of conidia resembling the basidiospores in form often occur in immense numbers in the substance of the fungus. Dacryomyces deliquescens, Duby, Bot. Gall., p. 729; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 8472; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 209. Gelatinous, roundish or irregular and variously gyrose, yellow, almost translucent and subdeliquescent, basal portion root-like, emerging from the matrix, patches 1–4 mm. broad; spores hyaline, cylindrical, obtuse, slightly curved, 3-septate, 15–17 × 6–7 μ. On decaying wood. Northern Island, New Zealand. Tasmania, Europe, Siberia, United States. Forming little gelatinous pale-yellow pustules on dead wood, often very abundant in rainy weather. 65. Guepinia, Fries. Cartilaginous or subgelatinous, erect, substipitate, spathulate or expanded, one surface fertile, the other sterile and minutely velvety. Guepinia, Fries, Elench., ii, p. 30. Small, thin, and flexible; distinguished from others with similar basidia by the differentiation into a sterile and fertile surface respectively; spores curved. Chains of conidia sometimes produced on the sterile side of the pileus. Guepinia spathularia, Fries, Epicr., ii, p. 32; Fl. N.Z., ii, p. 185; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 614; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 210; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 8520. Cæspitose; pileus erect, spathulate or irregularly flattened, thin, soft and tough, sterile side pale, pubescent, as is also the short rooting stem; hymenium orange, wrinkled; up to 5 cm. high, usually smaller; spores elliptical, becoming septate, 10 × 6 μ. On dead wood. Northern Island, New Zealand. Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, Ceylon, Java, India, United States, Cuba, Brazil. Very tough when growing, often springing out of cracks in wood, extending for some inches and growing more or less into each other, hence becoming very irregular in form. General form more or less battledore or fan shaped, with a stem 1–2 cm. long, especially when springing from cracks in the wood, a very common place of growth, and under such circumstances the plants are often closely crowded into rows following the crack for several inches. Altogether larger and differing from G. pezizœformis in the crowded habit.

Guepinia pezizœformis, Berk., in Hook. Journ., 1845, p. 60; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 614; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 8518; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 210, fig. 96. Bright orange-red, cartilaginous and elastic when moist, pileus obliquely saucer-shaped or almost flat, stem very short, minutely velvety, 3–4 mm. broad; hymenium slightly corrugated or wrinkled; spores elliptical, hyaline. On dead wood. Bay of Islands, Northern Island, New Zealand. Tasmania, Queensland, Western Australia. Usually more or less fan-shaped; rigid and contracted when dry. Growing solitary or scattered. 66. Calocera, Fries. Cartilaginous, viscid, rigid and horny when dry, vertical, simple or branched; branches terete, often forked at the tips. Calocera, Fries, Syst. Myc., i, p. 485. Resembling the branched forms of Clavaria in habit and general appearance; differing in the cartilaginous structure and form of the basidia. Growing on wood. The spores are sausage-shaped and curved, becoming septate on germination and producing clusters of elliptical sporidiola. Calocera viscosa, Fries., Syst. Myc., i, p. 486; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 8147. Irregularly branched, all branches of about uniform diameter, 2–3 mm., 3–7 cm. long, deep-orange, viscid, smooth and polished, very tough when growing, rigid and horny when dry, rooting base 3–5 cm. long, tough; spores cylindric-oblong, apiculate, slightly curved, 9–10 × 4–5 μ, hyaline. On decaying stumps of pines, &c. New Zealand. Malacca, Europe, United States. Superficially resembling a branched Clavaria, but differing in the tough consistency and different basidia. Calocera stricta, Fries, Epicr., p. 581; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 8163; Austr. Fung., p. 204 Simple, solitary or gregarious but not crowded and confluent, linear, erect, apex subacute, 1–2 cm. high, 2 mm. thick, orange-yellow, tough when moist, rigid and remaining even when dry, orange or yellow, base with white down; spores elliptical, 7–8 × 5–6 μ. On dead wood, especially of conifers. New Zealand. Victoria, Ceylon, Europe, United States, Cuba. Distinguished from the closely allied Calocera striata in being firmer in structure, and hence not shrinking and becoming striate or wrinkled when dry.

Calocera furcata, Fries, Syst. Myc., i, p. 486 (1821); Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 8150. Tufted, slender, 1–2 cm. long, often once or twice forked, yellow, viscid, branchlets acute, downy, and rooting at the base; spores hyaline, elliptic-oblong, slightly curved, 8–10 × 4–5 μ. On rotten branches, &c. New Zealand. Europe. Subgelatinous, slender, not becoming horny when dry, but adhering to the drying-paper. Stem simple slightly pubescent, rooting, sometimes solitary. Calocera cornea, Fries, Syst. Myc., i, p. 486; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 8158; Austr. Fung., p. 204. Clubs tufted, rooting, club-shaped, smooth, viscid, subulate, simple or rarely with a short branchlet, orange-yellow or sometimes pale-yellow, about 1 cm. high, 1–2 mm. thick; spores cylindric-oblong, 7–8 × 5 μ. On naked wood. New Zealand. Australia, Europe, South America, United States. Very rigid when dry. Frequently grows in rows, springing from cracks in dry hard wood. 67. Auricularia, Bull. Effused or the upper portion reflexed; hymenium inferior, with raised ribs or folds, inflated and gelatinous when moist, collapsing when dry; sterile surface velvety or strigose. Auricularia, Bull., Champ. Fr., p. 277. Resembling species of Stereum in habit and appearance; differing in consistency and in structure of basidia. Spores oblong, curved, producing on germination a branched promycelium bearing several strongly curved sporidiola. Auricularia mesenterica. Fries, Epicr., p. 555; Austr. Fung., p. 205; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 8294. Resupinate, upper margin free and reflexed, often very broadly effused, several specimens running into each other, subgelatinous and swollen when moist, rigid when dry, 3–10 cm. across; hymenium wrinkled and folded, smooth, brownish-purple; pileus coarsely velvety, zoned different colours, margin not deeply lobed; spores sausage-shaped, hyaline, smooth, continuous, slightly curved, 18–20 × 7 μ. On trunks. New Zealand. Australia, Tasmania, Europe, South America, United States. Often broadly effused and with numerous partly free imbricated pilei. Distinguished at sight from the species of Hirneola by the strigose zoned pileus.

68. Hirneola, Fries. Substance thin, cartilagineo-gelatinous, soft and tremelloid when moist, rigid when dry; sporophore cup-shaped or human-ear shaped, fertile surface polished, sterile surface velvety. Hirneola, Fries, Fung. Natal, p. 24. Differs from Auricularia, its nearest ally, in not becoming bullately inflated when moist, the substance being no thicker when moist than when dry. Basidia rod-shaped or fusoid, transversely septate, each cell bearing a single sterigma which in turn bears an oblong curved spore. Hirneola polytricha, Montag., Bel. Voy. Ind. Or., Crypt., p. 154; Austr. Fung., p. 206, fig. 90; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 8311. Hemispherical, then expanded, sessile but narrowed to a more or less central or oblique point of attachment, thin and elastic., rigid when dry; hymenium even, dark-brown with a purple tinge; externally even, minutely but densely velvety, greyish, becoming a rich yellowish-brown when dry; size variable, 4–12 cm. across; spores hyaline, colourless, smooth, sausage-shaped, slightly curved, 14–15 × 6–7 μ. On trunks, branches, &c. New Zealand. Australia, Tasmania, Java, Ceylon, Tahiti, Madagascar, South Africa, South America, Cuba, Mexico, Chatham Islands, Lord Howe Island, Torres Straits. Differs from Hirneola auricula-judœ in the absence of raised wrinkles on the pileus. A very widely distributed species, and one of the few fungi used on a large scale, and over a widely extended area, for food. Mr. T. Kirk gives the following account in the “Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute,” vol. xi, p. 454 (1878). “An Edible Fungus: Hirneola polytricha is collected and sent to China, where it is highly prized for food and medicine. In 1887 220 tons, valued at μ11,318, were collected in New Zealand and exported.” Hirneola auricula-judœ, Berk., Outl., p. 289, pl. 18, fig. 7; Cooke, Austr. Hdbk., p. 206; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 8312. Hemispherical, then expanded and more or less resembling a human ear in shape, sessile, thin, soft and flexible when moist, rigid when dry, 3–8 cm. diameter; hymenium glabrous, uneven with anastomosing ridges and folds, dingy flesh-colour, then blackish or dark-brown; externally showing irregular wrinkles, minutely but densely tomentose, greyish-olive, often brownish when dry; spores smooth, hyaline, continuous, sausage-shaped, slightly bent; 20–25 × 7–9 μ. On dead branches; in Europe most abundant on Sambucus.

New Zealand. Australia, Tasmania, Madagascar, South America, Cuba, Mexico, United States. Distinguished from H. polytricha in having the pileus and hymenium wrinkled and veined. Auricularia mesenterica differs in the shaggy zoned pileus. Edible. Hirneola hispidula, Berk., Exot. Fung., p. 396; Austr. Fung., p. 206; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 8323. Campanulate, then expanded, sessile, oblique, thin and flexible when moist, rigid when dry, 8–12 cm. across; hymenium dark-brown, even, or more or less veined; externally covered with a dense velvety pile, yellowish-brown or with an olive tinge, even or slightly veined; spores sausage-shaped and slightly bent, hyaline, continuous, smooth, 19–24 × 7–8 μ. On dead wood. New Zealand. Australia, Mauritius, Ceylon, South America, Java, Hong Kong. A large and fine species, somewhat variable in form and colour, sometimes narrowed at the point of attachment into a stem-like base. Hymenium sometimes with a purple tinge. Often growing in clusters of 2–6. Known more especially by the hairy pileus being almost hirsute, and the hairs longer than in other species. 69. Septobasidium, Pat. Effused and resupinate, coriaceous, not moist or gelatinous; hymenium separating from the lower stratum; basidia transversely septate, curved, sterigmata borne on the convex side of the basidium; spores hyaline, continuous. Septobasidium, Patouillard, Journ. de Bot., 1892, p. 63. Superficially resembling Thelephora, but readily distinguished by the transversely septate basidia. Septobasidium pedicellatum, Pat., Journ. de Bot., 1892, p. 63: Sacc., Syll. xi, no. 743. Syn., Thelephora pedicellata, Schweinitz, Syn. Carol., no. 108; Sacc., Syll. vi, no. 7188; Cooke, Austr. Fung., p. 180; Hdbk. N.Z. Flora, p. 611. Resupinate; rather soft and elastic, densely fibrous, thick, basal layer composed of fascicles of hyphÆ, tawny-cinnamon, margin whitish, radiating; hymenium paler, forming a thin separable pellicle which is often cracked irregularly; basidia curved, transversely septate, springing from a broadly pyriform basal cell; spores oblong, hyaline. On branches of living and dead trees of various species. New Zealand. United States, Cuba, Brazil, Ceylon, India, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia.

Forming effused patches often 8–12 cm. long, encircling branches; more or less felty and soft, hymenium often not developed. Very destructive when it attacks fruit-trees. Explanation of Plates I and II. Plate I. Fig. 1. Tremella lutescens, Fries; natural size. Fig. 2. Basidia of same, in different stages of development; X 500. Fig. 3. Polyporus arcularius, Fries; natural size. Fig. 4. Fomes australis, Fries; a very small specimen; natural size. Fig. 5. Auricularia mesenterica, Fries; natural size. Fig. 6. Transversely septate basidium of No. 5; each cell of the basidium bears a single sterigma, with a sausage-shaped spore at its apex; X 400. Plate II. Fig. 1. Cyphella densa, Berk.; natural size. Fig. 2. Surface view and section of same; slightly X. Fig. 3. Spores of same; X 400. Fig. 4. Guepinia spathularia, Fries; a group of plants; natural size. Fig. 5. Clavaria aborescens, Berk.; natural size. Fig. 6. Pistillaria ovata, Fries; natural size. Fig. 7. Poria hyalina, Berk.; natural size. Fig. 8. Hirneola polytricha, Mont.; natural size. Fig. 9. Craterella insignis, Cooke; natural size. Fig. 10. Stereum illudens, Berk.; natural size. Fig. 11. Section of No. 10; natural size.