Morphology, 33 



was clearly proved tbat one species, Botrijtis cinerea, 

 common in Britain, formed a sclerotium_, and that this 

 sclerotium, after a period of rest, gives origin to one 

 or more sporophores, producing spores, contained in 

 asci and agreeing in every detail with the genus 

 Peziza, belonging to the Ascomycetes. Now this 

 important discovery reduced the supposed species, 

 Botrytis cinerea, to that of the gonidial form of the 

 ascomycetous fungus Peziza Candolleana [=TIymeno- 

 scypha Candolleana). Since this discovery, fungo- 

 logists, from analogy, consider that all the supposed 

 species of the old genus Botrytis are gonidial forms of 

 Peziza, and consequently the genus Botrytis has been 

 abolished. Such genera as Botrytis , that have from 

 time to time been established for the reception of 

 forms that have since been shown to be gonidial condi- 

 tions of other fungi, are calledby De Bary/orm-r/e?i^r«, 

 and the species included in such genera form-species. 

 Accordincr to the old methods of classification, three 

 large groups of fungi, llypliomyectes, Spliairopsidead, 

 'dudMelanconieWf the two latter {=C onio my ceteso£ some 

 authors) including over eight thousand species from 

 all parts of the world, are considered by many to con- 

 sist entirely of form-genera and form-species, and that 

 they are in reality not entities in themselves, but 

 gonidial forms belonging mostly to the Ascomycetes. 

 Kecent researches on the life-history of fungi and 

 special methods of culture have proved this view to be 

 correct in numerous instances, yet there is a large 

 number of these supposed form-species that have not 

 been shown to have any connection with any higher 

 species. This may be to a great extent due to the fact 



