52 



ASCOMYCETES 



Of the Tuberaceae, Pscudhydnotrya Harknessi is reported from 

 California, and Tuber viacrosporuni from the Eastern States. 

 Among the Balsamiaceae, Geopoi'a Cooperi is known from Cah- 

 fornia. 



LITERATURE. 



Fischer, E. Die natiirhchen Pflanzenfamihen, ii : 278-290. 



Rabenhorst's Kryptogamen flora Deutschland u. s. w. 



\-->: 1-131. 



Saccardo. Sylloge Fungorum, 8 : 872-908 ; 10 : 80-83, 11 : 



442-445- 



Chatin. La truffe. Paris. 1892, 



Order 11. HYSTERIALES. 



The Hysteriales are represented by small species, elongate or 

 often boat-shaped, possessing a covering to the ascoma, which 

 ruptures at length, opening by a longitudinal slit. Some of the 

 species are parasitic on leaves and resemble scale-insects. The 

 members of this order are more tropical in their distribution and 

 many of them may be expected in the gulf region of America. 

 Quite a number, however, are found in the northern states, mostly 

 occurring as saprophytes on dry decorticated twigs and rotting 

 wood. Dichaeiia faginea is common everywhere on beech trees, 

 forming large blackish blotches on the gray bark. The families 

 may be distinguished as follows : 



1. Ascocarps immersed ; walls of the ascocarps connate with the mem- 



branous covering. Hypodermataceae. 



Ascocarps immersed at first, erumpent at maturity ; walls free, mem- 

 branous or carbonaceous. 2. 



Ascocarps free ; walls carbonaceous or membranous. 3. 



2. Walls membranous or coriaceous, black. Dichaenaceae. 

 Walls thick, almost corky, gray or black. Ostropaceae. 



3. Walls carbonaceous, black ; shield round, oval or more commonly 



linear. Hysteriaceae. 



Walls membranous or horny, brown ; ascocarps vertical, clavate. 



Acrospermaceae. 



Of the above families the Dichaenaceae and the Acrosperma- 

 ceae, each contain a single genus from which the famihes are re- 

 spectively named. The family Ostropaceae contains two genera. 



