MR. GEORGE MASSEE ON THE THELEPHORE X. 123 
The genus Peniophora, established by Cooke *, is also charac- 
terized by the microscopic structure of the hymenium. 
I have not attempted to unravel the synonymy of old writers, 
which would at best be purely speculative and lead tono good. It 
is true that there are mycologists at the present day who persuade 
themselves that they know for a certainty the species intended 
by Persoon and other early writers, in spite of the very meagre 
descriptions and absence of authentie specimens ; but such know- 
ledge savours of occultism, as it certainly cannot be derived from 
the source that ordinary mortals would have to depend upon— 
specifie diagnosis. The genus Corticium, as hitherto defined, has 
up to the present been considered as the base of the Hymeno- 
mycetes, but in nature, as opposed to book-schemes, there is no 
sharp line between Coniophora (previously included in Corticium) 
and several genera included in the Hyphomycetes ; there is the 
same effused interwoven subieulum with erect spore-bearing 
branches, the surface eventually becoming powdered with coloured 
spores, as in Chromosporium and Zygodesmus. 
The book student will probably think that the presence or 
absence of closely packed tetrasporous basidia forming a hyme- 
nium should at once indicate the true affinity ; but this is not so, 
otherwise Alewrodiscus tabacina, which only produces coloured 
spores (gonidia) singly on long slender gonidiophores, would 
belong to the Hyphomycetes ; whereas Aleurodiscus amorpha and 
A. Oakesii would technically belong to both the Hymenomycetes 
and the Hyphomycetes, inasmuch as in both species gonidia as 
defined above and tetrasporous basidia are both present in the 
hymenium. Coniophora aurea (syn. Hypochnus aureus), allied in 
other respects to normal species of Coniophora, has only uni- 
sporous basidia, in other words gonidia. Gonidia are produced 
along with basidiospores in several species in addition to those 
already mentioned. It may be argued that the presence of gonidia 
in the hymenium of a Hymenomycete does not prove affinity with 
the Hy phomycetes; but to be convincing it must be shown that the 
terms gonidium and gonidiophore, as used in the above connection, 
are in reality something more than mere names, which I incline to 
believe refer to degraded basidia that have become monosporous, 
as I have seen gonidiophores and basidia growing trom the same 
hypha in Alewrodiscus Oakesii ; and in some species of Corticium, 
as C. arachnoideum and C. radians, it is not unusual to find in 
the same hymenium normal tetrasporous basidia, others almost 
* Grevillea, vol. viii. p. 20. 
LINN. JOURN.—BOTANY, VOL. XXV. L 
