196 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



nium columbinum, Fumaria capreolata. Lycopodium 

 ctavatum is said to grow on Exmoor ; Asplenium 

 septcnlrionak was once supposed to occur at Glen- 

 thorn, and I am told that Adiantum Capilhis- Veneris 

 ought to be found at Lynmouth somewhere. I have 

 not heard of Hymenophyllum being found. 



At Ufracombe, Spergularia rupestris grows on the 

 rocks, in company with Plantago maritima, P. 

 coronopus, Crithmiim maritimum, Sec, these being 

 easy of reach compared with what they were at 

 Lynmouth. 



We took the train to Morthoe and drove to the 

 shore. Here the furze was red with Cuscuta epithy- 

 mum ; Erythrcea latifolia was dotted about in the 

 grass, and Erodium maritimum grew in company 

 with E. cicutarium in the walls. Along Woola- 

 combe Sands we noticed a curious phenomenon, 

 probably a kind of mirage. The sands are about 

 half a mile wide at this point, and the sun was 

 scorching down on them, and although the tide was 

 a good way out, yet it appeared as if about a quarter 

 of a mile ahead the sand was covered with a layer 

 of water about an inch or two thick, which seemed to 

 reach close up to the shore and to be rippling. But 

 when we advanced, we found the sand to be perfectly 

 dry, and on looking back, the part we had traversed 

 seemed covered with water in the same way, and 

 some people sitting on a rock seemed to have their 

 feet in the water. 



On the sand-dunes at the back grew Convolvulus 

 soldanella, Elymus arenarius, Euphorbia paralias, 

 Iris fectidissima, Liguslrum vulgare, Rosa pimpinclli- 

 folia ; and CEtwthera biennis is said to be found near 

 here, but it was too hot to make a prolonged search. 

 After diving inland, we again reach the shore at 

 Croyde Bay, where we gather Honckenya peploides, 

 Aster Tripolium (mostly discoid), Anthyllisvutneraria, 

 Sec, and on Saunton rocks find Statice occidental's 

 and Matthiola sinuata, and near, Lycopsis arven- 

 sis, Saponaria officinalis. Want of time prevented 

 our exploring Braunton Burrows, where Artemisia 

 maritima, Asperugo procumbens, Chenopodium ru- 

 brum, Epipactis palustris, Erigeron acre, Scirpus 

 Holoscho:nus, Teucrium scordium, Sec, are said to be 

 found. The burrows were planted with Elymus 

 arenarius, and are aptly called the "Little Egypt." 

 Between here and Braunton station we found a good 

 specimen of the var. lobatum of Scolopendrium 

 vulgare, and saw many painted-ladies (Vanessa 

 cardui) flitting about. 



At Clovelly we did little botanising, but Senebiera 

 didyma grows between the stones in the "main 

 street " of that quaint old village. Epipactis latifolia 

 (? var. media) up the Hobby drive ; the golden rod is 

 lovely in the woods ; Vicia sylvatica, and Trifolium 

 arvense grow close to the shore, and Atriplex rosea 

 in the stones of the beach at Mill Mouth. 



Here our tour ended. 



I should advise any readers who are making a 



similar expedition, to provide at least two flower 

 presses for the reception of their specimens, one for 

 the fresh plants, and one into which they could 

 be transferred when partly dry. I much regretted 

 the want of a second press myself. In country inns 

 there is much difficulty in getting the papers changed 

 or dried ; in fact, for this sort of collecting, " there's 

 no place like home." 



G. H. Bryan. 

 Peterhouse, Cambridge. 



HAPLOGRAPHIUM : A GENUS OF FUNGI. 



THIS genus of Hyphomycetes was founded by 

 Berkeley and Broome in their "Notices of 

 British Fungi," in the Annals and Magazine of 

 Natural History, 1859, where they described it as 

 follows : Flocci atri, non fasciculato-stipati, articulati. 

 Spone concatenate, hyalinoe. They distinguished 

 it from Graphium by the character mentioned, that 

 the stem was single, not compounded of a number of 

 parallel and cohering hyphse, and pointed out that the 

 Graphium tenuissimum of Corda and the Periconia 

 chlorocephala of Fresenius belong to this genus, to 

 which they also added a new species, Haplographium 

 delicatum. 



I had the pleasure of finding another species near 

 Birmingham, which belongs to the same natural 

 group, but differs in one important particular from 

 all the three previously described. While walking in 

 a field between Langley and Middleton, about eight 

 miles from the town, I came upon the branch of a 

 tree lying among the grass, where it had evidently 

 been left undisturbed for some time till it had become 

 thoroughly rotten. Turning this over, as my custom 

 is, I saw that the lower surface, which was black from 

 decay, had on one part a delicate bloom quite 

 perceptible to the naked eye. Portions of this were 

 secured, and, on being examined microscopically at 

 home, the bloom was resolved into a dense forest of 

 tiny vegetation, formed of slender, erect, straight, 

 dark-brown stems, about a quarter of a millimetre 

 high, each surmounted by an obovate head of a 

 delicate pale honey-colour, which contrasted strongly 

 with that of the stein, as seen by a half-inch 

 objective in a brilliant light. This appearance 

 suggested to me, as soon as I ascertained the 

 structure of the head to be such as to ally it to these 

 first-mentioned species, the name of Haplographium 

 bicolor, as a suitable one to designate my find. 

 Another striking point in the appearance of the 

 fungus is that each stem is supported on a broad, 

 dark-brown, cushion-like base, which gives it a 

 decided look of rigidity and strength. By reflected 

 light the brown is almost black. 



The stems are simple and septate, the number of 

 septa varying from six to nine ; the upper joint is 



