117 



FUNGI FROM KERGUELEN ISLAND. 

 By D. McAlpine. 

 (Communicated hy J. H. Maiden, F.L.S.) 



(Plate XIII., figs. 1-8.) 



Mr. Robert Hall, of Melbourne, paid a visit to this Island in 

 December, 1897, and was there from December 27th, 1897, to 

 February 18th, 1898, or a little over seven weeks altogether. 



He sailed from Port Philip in the brig " Edward," commanded 

 by Captain Steensohn, with a crew of 1 4 men on board. As the 

 guest of Mr. Hans Gundersen, the owner, he had every facility 

 for making the most of his trip as naturalist. While his principal 

 object was to study the oceanic avifauna and collect ornithologi- 

 cal specimens, he also made a general collection of natural history 

 objects, which will, I understand, be properly described. The 

 fungi collected by him were placed in my hands for determination 

 by Mr. Luehmann, F.L.S. , Curator of the National Herbarium, 

 and I consider them of sufficient interest and novelty to be put 

 on record. 



Kerguelen Island, also known as Desolation Island and 

 Antarctic Iceland, lies in the South Indian Ocean, midway between 

 the Cape of Good Hope and Australia. Its long is between 

 68° 42' and 70° 35' E., and its lat. 48° 39' and 49° 44' S. It is 

 about 90 miles long by 50 wide, and is composed principally of 

 volcanic rock. The flora of such an oceanic island has a peculiar 

 interest of its own in relation to geographical distribution, and 

 even the fungi have to be taken into account in this connection. 



Previous Collections of Fungi. — Fi"\e scientific expeditions 

 have visited the Island within comparati\'ely recent times — the 



