MR. F. CURREY ON A NEW GENUS IN THE ORDER MUCEDINES. 333 
On a new Genus jn the Order Mucedines. 
By FREDERICK Curkzr, M.A., F.R.S., Sec. L.S. 
Puate VII. 
[Read June 20, 1872.] 
Tue plant here described was brought to my notice by Dr. R. O. 
Cunningham, F.L.S., who had received an account of it from Dr. 
D. D. Cunningham, of Calcutta, where the fungus is found in the 
rainy season covering the flowers of Hibiscus rose sinensis. I 
have since corresponded with Dr. D. D. Cunningham upon the 
subject, and received from him further information, accompanied 
by some admirable drawings; and I am thus enabled to lay before 
the Society the following account of the fungus in question. 
The mycelium traverses the tissue of the fading corolla of the 
Hibiscus, and is only scantily jointed. The fertile threads are 
erect, unbranched, and continuous. These threads are swollen at 
the apex; and from the swollen apex proceed numerous shortly 
stalked pyriform cells, which ultimately form the funnels here- 
after to be noticed. The spores originate from the above-men- 
tioned cells in the manner shown in fig. 6 (Pl. VIL), which 
represents a cell very highly magnified, with the young spores 
attached. At this stage of growth there is no differentiation 
of one part of the cell from the other; but shortly afterwards 
a line appears cutting off the upper portion of the cell, to which 
the spores are attached, as shown in fig. 5. This upper portion 
ultimately collapses and sinks down, or falls inwards, as it were, 
carrying with it the ripe spores. The subsequent fate of this 
collapsing membrane is not very clear; but it seems probable 
that it decays, and thus sets free the ripe spores. The result, 
however, is that the spores eventually become detached, and the 
cells, which were originally pyriform, assume the shape of stalked 
funnels still attached to the capitate portion of the fertile 
thread. This condition of the fungus is shown in fig. 3, where 
the spores have almost disappeared, a few detached ones being 
still visible in some of the funnels, and one of the latter being still 
quite full of spores. It happens occasionally that the margins of 
the funnels, instead of being entire and sharply defined, exhibit 
irregular torn fragments of membrane, being obviously the re- 
mains of the collapsed upper portion. On one occasion Dr. Cun- 
ningham observed a funnel from which the spores had escaped, 
leaving a bladder-like protrusion, which had shrunk away from 
the funnel, but had not become detached. From the appearance 
