408 MR. W. N. CHEESMAN ON THE 
А Contribution to the Mycology of South Africa. By W. N. "- 
F.L.S. With a Note on the Coprophilous Fungi, by Tuomas GIBBS. 
(PLATE 36.) 
[Read 4th June, 1908. ] 
THE time of the visit to South Africa by the British Association during the 
autumn of 1905 was very enjoyable from the traveller’s point of view, but 
not the most profitable from a botanical standpoint. In Central Africa the 
seasons are simply two—the wet and the dry. The rainy season or summer 
extends from October to April, and the dry season or winter (during which 
scarcely any rain falls) from May to September. It was at the end of the 
latter period when the visit was made, and the dry and. parched appearance 
of the vegetation contrasted very strongly with the hearty welcome and 
cordial hospitality extended by the colonists to their guests. In winter 
the thermometer would register 90° Г. at mid-day, falling to 40? at night. 
Notes on Distribution. 
The present contribution adds 25 species to the Mycologie flora of Africa, 
one of which 13 new to science. 
This addition tends to prove what has for some time been suspected, that 
the numerous large and typical genera are cosmopolitan, with specialized 
forms—so-called species—characteristic of each region. 
Among such may be enumerated Poria vaporaria, Polyporus elegans, 
Schiz ophyllum commune, and Polystictus sanguineus. Some of these, like the 
last-named, are most abundant in tropical regions, with but few outliers 
in temperate regions. Others, as Poria vaporaria and Polyporus gilvus, 
have their headquarters in temperate regions. An examination of the list 
reveals the fact that various species more or less common in the New 
World, Europe, and Australasia respectively are now added to the African 
list. 
Excluding the Myxogastres, it will be observed that of the 30 species 
of the larger fungi 10 are cosmopolitan, whilst the remaining 20 are here 
recorded for the first time from the African continent ; and again, 12 of 
the 30 are found in Australasia, two, viz. Polyporus nanus and Не. wagoma 
decipiens, being hitherto recorded only from that quarter of the globe. This 
fact may be "another indication of the supposed ancient land-connection 
