226 SUMMARY OF CURRENT EESEARCHES RELATING TO 



Polyporus lucidus and some of its Allies.* — G. F. Atkinson has 

 made a study of the forms of this fungus that have been found in Europe 

 and North America. He remarks on the general resemblance there is 

 between the floras of the two countries, especially among fungi, though 

 often there is a slight modification, almost amounting to specific differ- 

 ence, to be observed. Thus while P. lucidus occurs in Europe almost 

 solely on frondose trees, in America its chief habitat is the hemlock- 

 spruce, otherwise it is exactly like the European species. Atkinson 

 describes P. lucidus under Murrill's name Ganoderma pseudo-boletum, 

 and also the two allied forms, G. Gurtisii, which is rarely varnished, 

 G. oregonense Murrill and G. subperforatum sp. n. Notes are given of 

 the spores of these species. They are not verrucose as frequently 

 described, but dotted with projections of the central contents. 



German Corticeae.f— F. v. Hohnel and V. Litschauer continue their 

 study of Corticeae from various parts of Germany. From Westphalia 

 are recorded forty-one species belonging to Corticium, Peniophora, 

 Tomentella and other genera. Several species are new or redescribed ; 

 eighty-nine species have been found in North Germany ; the account of 

 them is now concluded. The habitat and locality are appended in all 

 cases. 



Abnormal Formations in Hymenomycetes.J — F. Ludwig considers 

 that the malformations of the Higher Fungi so frequently described are 

 a means of increasing the hymenial tissue of the plant, and aid in the 

 dissemination of spores. He cites three typical instances. 1. The 

 formation of stalked heads one above the other, occurring in Lactarius 

 volemus, Russula rubra, other species of Russula, and in some Boleti. 

 2. Polycephalous formation : many little heads on one stalk, found in 

 Hydnum repaiidum and normal in Polyporus umbellatus and P. fron- 

 dosus. 3. Polyporoid formation in gilled fungi, which occurs in Agaricus 

 campestris, Paxillus involutus, and Gortinarius. The author thinks that 

 some genera such as Pterophyllus and Rhacophyllus have been founded 

 on a mistaken appreciation of malformations. 



Research on Elaphomyces.§— E. Fontana has examined a large 

 number of specimens, and publishes a revision of this genus. She 

 gives prominence to the characters of the peridium and especially the 

 sculpturing of the surface as being of value in determination. 



In a second paper || she compares E. anthr acinus and E. pyriformis 

 and concludes that these two represent but one species, E. anthracinus, 

 with perhaps a form, pyriformis. She found in Vittadini's collections 

 three specimens of the very rare E. septatus, and now writes a detailed 

 description of it. 



* Bot. Gaz., xlvi. (1908) pp. 321-38 (1 pi. and 5 figs ). 



t Oesterr. Bot. Zeitscbr., lviii. (1908) pp. 329-35 •; 441-4; 470-8. 



X Festscbr. Welt. Ges. Gesamrnt. Naturk. Hanaw., 1908, pp. 112-17. See also 

 Bot. Centralbl.,cviii. (1908) pp. 607-8. 



§ Mem. R. Accad. Sci. Torino, ser. 2, lix. (1907-8) pp. 89-108 (2 pis.). 



|| Atti R. Accad. Sci. Torino, xliii. (1907-8). See also Bot. Centralbl., cviii. 

 (1908) p. 610. 



