122 MR. GEORGE MASSEE ON THE THELEPHORER. 
appearance as when cut or bruised. Ifa specimen so treated is 
afterwards placed in alcohol, sections show the laticiferous vessels 
filled with dull red colouring-matter. Laticiferous vessels are 
difficult to trace in specimens that have been dried for any length 
of time, and equally so in quite fresh specimens, as they become 
empty at once when cut, and consequently collapse; whereas in 
fresh specimens that have been kept for a few days in a dry 
place, theliquid portion of the latex disappears, leaving the gra- 
nular portion, which enables the observer to follow the vessels in 
a section much better than in aleohol material. The addition of 
dilute iodine solution, which stains the latex dark brown, greatly 
facilitates the examination of laticiferous vessels in fungi generally 
after the specimens have been prepared by partial desiccation. 
With few exceptions, the plants are Saprophytes, growing 
on wood and bark, or sometimes incrusting decayed vegetable 
matter. 
Few travellers collect fungi, more especially the comparatively 
inconspicuous resupinate forms; hence it is at present impos- 
sible to give more than a general statement as to geographical 
distribution. In all probability species belonging to the Thele- 
phoree are to be found wherever Phanerogams grow, and the 
present great centres of the group must not be considered as 
"specific eentres," but in reality correspond to those localities 
where mycologists have resided. Corticium, Coniophora, Penio- 
phora, Stereum, and Thelephora are, according to the present 
state of knowledge, characteristic of temperate regions, but not 
without representatives, generally more highly developed, in the 
tropics ; whereas such genera as Beccaria, Skepperia, and Hy- 
polyssus are confined to warm regions. 
The classification of the Thelephorez according to the old 
authors was based entirely on external resemblances ; hence it is 
not suprising that genera were included which have since been 
shown to belong to the Agaricinez, Polypore, Tremellines, and 
Pezizex respectively. Léveillé * was the first to make use of 
morphological characters in establishing the genus Hymenochete 
for the reception of several species previously included in Stereum, 
but distinguished by the presence of numerous spine-like, asep- 
tate, dark brown hyphe, projecting from the surface of the 
hymenium, which consequently presents a velvety appearance. 
* Ann. Sci. Nat. sér. ITI. vol. v. p. 150. 
