354 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



Phalloids. — C. (J. Lloyd* has giveD an account so far as yet known 

 of the genera and species of this group of fungi in Australia. 

 They include species of eight genera, and photographs are reproduced 

 of plates already published. He classifies them under sections, with (1) 

 simple stem, (2) lobed, (3) columnar, and (4) clathrate, each section 

 containing two or more genera. An account is given of the species in 

 the different herbaria, where and by whom they were collected. In 

 Mycological Notes t Lloyd publishes various critical remarks on Mutinus, 

 Phallus, Lysurus, Clathrus, etc., with figures either from nature or from 

 authentic drawings. Lloyd has gathered together much information 

 that is interesting and useful about these plants. 



Witches' Brooms of the South Midlands.;}; — J. Saunders finds that 

 in most cases the exciting cause of brooms on trees is a parasitic fungus. 

 The phenomena associated therewith are, usually, crumpling of the 

 foliage and barrenness and brevity of life of the twigs : the leaves fall 

 early, the twigs live for only one or two seasons, so that a full-grown 

 broom contains numerous dead twigs entangled with the new growth. 

 A list of trees is given on which brooms have been observed ; the 

 exciting fungus in spruce fir was a species of Puccinia, in all the other 

 cases a species of Exoascus. On hornbeam and birch, brooms are caused 

 by Exoascus and also by a mite, but on the latter tree he states that the 

 brooms due to the mite are diminutive in size and are outgrowths from 

 diseased buds ; the large well-known birch broom is caused by Exoascus. 



Action of Fungi on Cellulose. § — H. C. Schellenberg has made a 

 prolonged study of this subject by growing selected fungi, parasites or 

 semi-parasites, on various plant substances. Two kinds of cellulose had 

 been distinguished : true cellulose which is only soluble in boiling acid, 

 and hemicellulose, which yields to more or less weak acid solutions. The 

 author explains how he grew the fungi, and describes the substances 

 with which he experimented. Among grasses he selected Molinia co&ruka, 

 as rich in hemicellulose ; seeds of Lupinus hirsutus, with less soluble 

 hemicellulose ; date-kernels still more resistant to acids, and seeds of 

 Tmpatiens and Cyclamen, which contain amyloids. The selected fungi 

 were several species of Mucor, Rhizopus nigricans, Thamnidium eUgans, 

 Penicillium, Botrytis, Nectria, Cladosporium, etc. These fungi, though 

 very different in their action, were capable of dissolving the hemi- 

 cellulose in one or another of the plants presented to them, though they 

 showed a quite remarkable specialisation in this respect. Vuillemin 

 distinguishes four different ferments : Molinia-, Lupinus-, Phmnix-, and 

 Tmpatiens-cjtase, by means of which the fungi attack and destroy the 

 different kinds of hemicellulose. True cellulose remained intact, and 

 this he considers due to its chemical constitution. He also discusses 

 the action of bacteria on cellulose and their ferments. Incidentally he 

 draws a distinction between the behaviour of Botrytis cinerea and 

 B. vulgaris, the latter being more active : he thinks this decides that they 



* Cincinnati, U.S.A., July 1907, 24 pp., 25 figs. 



f Mycological Notes, No. 28 (Cincinnati, U.S.A., Oct. 1907) pp. 349-64 (19 figs.). 



X Journ. Bot., xlvi. (1908) pp. 116-19. 



§ Flora, xcviii. (1908) pp. 257-308. 



