286 SUMMAEY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO ' 



New British Fungi. — E. M. Wakefield {Trans. Brit. Mycol. Soc, 

 1919, 6, 132-4). A number of fungi new to this country are described 

 in full. The more interesting are Hypochnus umbrinus and H. isabellinm, 

 both of a somewhat dark colour, and distinguished by the warted or 

 spinous spores. Another species, Helotiiim ciliatosporum, bears ascospores 

 that are ciliate at one end. A. L. S. 



New Mycena. — A. A. Pearson {Trans. Brit. Mycol. Soc, 1919, 6, 

 135-6, 1 fig.). Mycena epipterygioides sp, n. was found by the author 

 in the pine-woods at Weybridge. It is marked by spinous basidia which 

 spring from the viscid thread at the edge of the gills. A. L. S. 



New or Rare Microfungi. — A. Lorrain Smith {Trans. Brit. Mycol. 

 Soc, 1919, 6, 149-57, 2 figs.). A list of species found or already 

 recorded during the preceding year. One new genus, Boydia, is de- 

 scribed, with peculiar long spores widening at each end like a double 

 oar. Similar spores occur in Vialea inscidpta Sacc. But in the latter 

 the perithecia develop from stromata. A. L. S. 



Entomogenous Tungi New to Britain. — A. D. Cotton {Trans. 

 Brit. Mycol. Soc, 1919, 6, 200-3). Three species of Empusa are listed, 

 with descriptions as given in Thaxter's " Entomophthoreis of the United 

 States." Two of the species were found on aphides in Scotland ; the 

 third species was found on a small green caterpillar on grass in Somerset. 

 Cladosporium aphidis is also recorded from Ross-shire, but it may 

 probably be a form of the common C. herbarwn ; there was no evidence 

 whether the fungus was parasitic or merely saprophytic. A. L. S. 



Fluorescent Coloring Matter from Leptonia incana. — Harold 

 Wa&er {Trans. Brit. Mycol. Soc, 1919, 6, 158-64). The fungus when 

 placed in 95 p.c. alcohol gives a green solution which shows a brilliant 

 green or green-blue fluorescence ; in distilled water an opalescent yellow 

 solution with a slight green fluorescence. The author describes the effect 

 of repeating the solutions, of evaporating, and of adding various reagents, 

 acid or alkaline. He contrasts fluorescence with phosphorescence, which 

 are now classed together as photo-luminescence. He found fluorescence 

 in a large number of fungi, which are listed along with the colour 

 produced. A. L. S. 



Some Concepts- in Mycology : An Attempt at Synthesis. — W. B. 

 Brierly {Trans. Brit. Mijcol. Soc, 1919, 6, 204-35). The writer deals 

 mainly with the species-concept. He contends that morphological 

 characters are not constant ; that there is great plasticity in the organism 

 which has not been sufficiently recognized ; and also, by experiment, he 

 has shown that the morphological variations depend on environment and 

 are constant, given identical conditions. This introduces the physio- 

 logical species, the morphological individual being merely the visible 

 expression of the reactions of the physiological constitution under 

 particular conditions. A second section of the paper deals with the 

 educability of the fungus. A. L. S. 



