TRANSACTIONS 
OF 
THE LINNEAN SOCIETY 
I. A Revision of the Genus Vibrissea. By WILLIAM PHILLIPS, F.L.S. 
(Plates I., IT.) 
Read January 20th, 1881. 
THE genus Vibrissea was established by the distinguished Swedish mycologist the late 
E. Fries for the reception of two species of Fungi nearly allied to Leotiwm—viz. Г. trun- 
corum (Alb. & Schw.) and У. rimarum, Ег., chiefly on account of the curious phenomenon 
presented by these plants of projecting their unusually long slender sporidia with great 
force from the hymenium, when removed from the water in which they grow and exposed 
to the dryness of the atmosphere, while many of the sporidia remain attached to the 
hymenium by their lower extremity, imparting a velvety appearance to its surface. 
Albertini and Schweinitz * were the first to describe and figure Vibrissea truncorum as a 
Leotium; but they are altogether silent on the subject of the projecting sporidia, on 
which account it must be presumed they had not observed it. From the date of the 
publication of Fries's ‘Systema’ (1822) these two species remained the only representatives 
of the genus till J. A. Weinmann published Vibrissea vermicularis, Weinm., in 1836 +. 
А. C. J. Corda, in his ‘Anleitung zum Studium der Mykologie'i, іп 1842, published 
Vibrissea Регзоопй, Corda. The entire description is as follows :-“ Köpfchen gewölbt, 
roth, Stiel grünlich," which is far too imperfect to enable us to distinguish it from 
Р. truncorum, the stem of which not unfrequently assumes a greenish shade. Іп 1852 
Dr. Rabenhorst published Vibrissea flavipes, Rabh.§, and in the following year V. pu- 
bescens, аһ. |. Іп 1857 the MM. Crouan published a species, Vibrissea Guernisaci, 
Crouan, differing altogether in form from those already enumerated by the total absence 
of a stipes, and simulating the genus Patellaria. It was doubted by some whether 
this should be accepted as a true Vibrissea; but, as I have observed specimens collected 
* Conspectus Fungorum, р. 297, t. 3. f. 2. T Weinmann, Hymenom. et Gasterom. p. 487. 
+ Corda, Атей. p. 97, t. С. f. 66, 3 & 8. § Bot. Zeit. 1852, p. 286. 
|| І am unable to find a description of this species. ЧТ Ann. des Sc. Nat. vol. vii. p. 173, t. iv. f. 24-26. 
SECOND SERIES.—BOTANY, VOL. II. B 
