WuitE: THe NIpDULARIACEAE OF NortH America 2538 
plants resembling Crucibudum in habit * have been described under 
Nidularia which differ so much in the peridial structure and char- 
acter from the type of the genus, with the exception of not having 
the sporangioles attached to the inner wall of the peridium, that it 
seems best to establish another genus in order to simplify as much 
as possible the arrangement of the family. It was ardently desired 
to retain the name Midu/aria, but unfortunately it has been found 
impossible to do this as all seven of the species which Fries + gives 
under his section Midudaria conform to the type of Granularia, so 
the name Vidularia must pass into synonymy. 
It is interesting to note that Corda t included only Widularia 
and Cyathus under the Nidulariaceae. Nees noted a resemblance 
between this family and Polysaccum, but the latter genus is in- 
cluded by Fischer § under the Sclerodermataceae as Pisolithus 
Alb. & Schwein. 
Although the members of this family have been mentioned in 
nearly all works treating of fungi from the time of Clusius, 1601, 
little was known of their structure and life habits until 1842, 
when Schmitz || wrote a short paper on Cyathus, and two years 
later the brothers Tulasne,{ instigated by this first effort to con- 
tinue the study of these interesting plants, prepared their treatise 
on the organization and fructification of the Nidulariaceae, which, 
with the supplementary work of Sachs,** Eidam ++ and Brefeld,}t 
forms the foundation of our exact knowledge of this group of 
fungi, 
__ The American species have never been monographed, and even 
the mention of plants belonging to this family has becn compara- 
“ely infrequent. 
* Under Crucibulum De Bary (Comp. Morph. 321) calls attention to the fact that 
he was unable to find a funiculus in some peridioles but says ‘‘ the coil always showed 
# small point which answers to it.” In the specimens referred to this genus there was 
absolutely No trace or rudiment and it would be impossible even in young sporangioles 
to determine to which side they had been attached. 
TAnleit. 103. 1842, 
TSyst. Myc. 2: 300, 1823. 
aL. 338. 
|| Ueber Cyathus. Linnaea, 16: 141. pi. 6, 7. 1842. 
T Ann. Sci. Nat. III, x: 41-107. p/, 1844. 
Bot. Zeitung, 833-845, 849-861. 1855. 
ttCohn’s Beitr. 2. Biol, 2: 221-245. 1876. 
_-FEBot. Mitt. tiber Schimmelpilze, 3: 176-180. 1877. 
