% 



152 Mr. BowBiAN on a new Plant 



a good lens to distinguish its general structure ; and the in- 

 sertion of the filaments into the under surface of the pileus, on 

 which I have founded its generic name {m^dt ab infra, and >-;)/*« 

 filamentum,) can only be discovered by the compound micro- 

 scope. 



Class and Order. Cryptogamea Fungi. 



Natural Order. Gastromyci. Link, Greville. Gasteromy- 



CETES. Fries. 



ElSTERTnENEMA ELEGANS. 



Tab. XVI. 



Gen. Char. Peridium subglobatum, pellucidum, lacteo-albidura, 

 stipite perforante, pileo terminali, filamentis ab infra sur- 

 silm cirratis. 



Spec. Char. Sporangium imprimis sessile, globosum, deinde 

 stipitatum ; stipite infra cylindraceo, superne conico, po- 

 stremc!» peridio rimoso, evanescente. Crescit gregatim in 

 sylvis opacis apud quercfis ramos decorticates. 



In its earliest stage the capsule or sporangium is globular and 

 stemless, gelatinous, white, and semitransparent {Tab. 16. /. b.) 

 like its kindred genera Trichia, Stemonytis, Arscyria, &c. It 

 soon acquires a stem, and the head becomes sphaeroidal, the 

 stipes passing through its shorter axis, and having a small cir- 

 cular and rather depressed spot on its apex, which may be 

 termed a pileus or cap {Jig. c, d, Sfc). This pileus hardens, and 

 changes its colour to a dark brown, while the sporangium is still 

 soft and diaphanous ; and if the latter be examined in this stage 

 of its growth by a good microscope in a strong light, very slen- 

 der brown and waved filaments may be seen imbedded within its 

 substance, radiating round the pileus {fig. c). The sporangium 

 afterwards appears coagulated and opaque, though still white ; 



the 



