6 FETCH : 



thin and rigid. It was the latter feature which influenced 

 the separation of Poria aquosa, but further specimens have 

 shown that the dissepiments of Polyporus interruptus are 

 thick and soft when moist, hke those of Poria aquosa. 



The form named Poria aquosa grows on rotting trunks, 

 usually on a vertical surface. The patches are white, extend- 

 ing over several feet, with a thin, tomentose margin. The 

 pores are at first soft and watery, with thick dissepiments, 

 but they become thin and rigid on drying. When dry the 

 pores are angular, small, and up to 2 mm. long. Frequently 

 the patches are interrupted by small horizontal pilei. The 

 basal layer is a thin weft of hyphse. 



This species has recently been found to cause a root disease 

 of tea, and consequently a larger series of specimens has como 

 under examination. On the stems of the tea bush the fructi- 

 fication is similar to that observed on decaying tree trunks, 

 but there is a greater tendency to produce pilei, sometimes in 

 imbricated masses. 



On exposed lateral roots pilei are produced along the whole 

 length, at first discontinuous, but subsequently fusing into a 

 continuous border up to a centimetre wide. The mycelium 

 runs freely through the soil, and produces the Poria fructi- 

 fication in hollows, and the pilei in imbricated masses on 

 sloping surfaces ; it also binds together dead leaves and twigs, 

 developing pilei along the sides of the latter, and a very elegant 

 Poria form on the under side of the leaves. This Poria form 

 on the dead leaves may be 3 or 4 centimetres in diameter, a 

 very thin layer of sub -hexagonal pores surrounded by a broad, 

 radiating, byssoid margin. When a tea bush is attacked by 

 this fungus, the surrounding area, for a radius of about 2 feet, 

 may be covered in wet weather by the varied fructifications. 



The pilei are small, orbicular, usually about 1 cm. X 5 mm., 

 and 2 mm. thick. The upper surface is white when dry, but 

 appears grayish behind when moist, and is minutely tomentose. 



As this species produces pilei, it must be known as Poly- 

 porus interruptus B. & Br,, not Poria interrupta. 



In Fungi of Ceylon No. 507, Berkeley and Broome described 

 a species as Polyporus niphodes, fromThwaiteS 652. They 

 stated that it resembled Hymenogramme, and superficially 



