564 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



"which breaks up and forms a yeast on sugar. All these forms of fructi- 

 fication were proved to be connected with each other, and reproduced 

 the disease by inoculation of green grapes. The authors consider the 

 fungus the type of a new genus of Sphteropsideae ; and they have named 

 it Manginia ampelina. 



Disease of Potato.* — J. J. Vanha notes a disease of the potato 

 plant affecting it outwardly very much like Phytophthora, causing brown 

 spots on the leaves attacked and rendering the tubers small and poor in 

 starch. The fungus has been identified as a Hyphomycete, Sporidesmium 

 solani varkms sp. n. It penetrates the leaf and grows in the tissue. 

 The writer made a series of cultures and produced macrospores of few 

 or many cells, one-celled conidia, pycnidia, and small mycelial clumps 

 something like sclerotia. 



Hyphomycetes.t — G. Lindau has issued the second part of the 

 ' Kryptogainen-Flora' dealing with Mucedineae. In the division Cephalo- 

 sporieae, he describes all those forms with simple colourless spores that 

 form a head of spores. He keeps up both Rhopalomyces and (Edo- 

 ceplialum, very closely related genera, and also the barely distinguishable 

 Hyalopus and Ccplialosporium. He demands a more exact knowledge 

 of the species by culture, etc., before sinking the allied genus. He 

 begins the Aspergilleas and describes one new genus Eidamia founded 

 on Monosporium acrcmonioides. 



Notes on Moulds. J — v. Holmel publishes an account of three dif- 

 ferent species of Hyphomycetes. Thielaviopsis paradoxahe, found grow- 

 ing on the seed albumen of Cocos nucifcra. It was identical in one 

 stage with Sporochisma paradoxa, but it had also the second conidial 

 form of Thielaviopsis ethacetica. He therefore unites the two species. 

 He has also established the identity of Helminthosporium apicale with 

 Acrothecium. It has undoubtedly two conidial forms. He creates a 

 new genus Atractina from a foim with upright dark coloured condio- 

 phores branched like Penicillium and bearing a head of septate spores. 

 All these are saprophytes. 



Ustilago violacea.§ — R. Baar describes the development of this 

 fungus in the host-plant Melandryum pratense. In autumn the hyphse 

 penetrate the root-stock and form a resting mycelium. In summer the 

 spores are formed in the anthers, and seed-formation is stopped. 



^Iridium of Maize Rust.||— J. C.Arthur has succeeded in elucidat- 

 ing the problem as to the propagation of rust on Indian corn. He 

 found ascidia growing plentifully in a restricted area of Oxalis plants, 

 and on searching for the teleutosporic host, he found some corn-stalks 

 washed up by a neighbouring river. He followed up the clue and 

 brought the aecidia of the Oxalis into contact with a healthy maize 



* Naturw. Zcitscln-. Land unci Forstwirthsch., ii. (1904) pp. 113-27. See also 

 Bot. Centralbl., xcvi. (1904) p. 67. 



t Rabenliorst's Kryptoganien-Floia, viii. Lief. 93 (1904) pp. 63-128. 



J Hedwigia, xliii. (1904) pp. 295-9. 



§ SB. Deutsch. Nat.-Mediziu. Btikm., 1903, pp. 279-8.") (0 figs.). See alto Aim. 

 Mycol., ii. (1904) pp. 3C0-1. 



|| Bot. Gazette, xxxviii. (1904) pp. G4-7. 



