lOo BASIDIOMYCETES 



borders, and H. albo-cinctus glistening white ; other species are 

 less common farther north. The species of Tonicntclla form 

 yellowish-brown crusts on old stumps and logs. 



Family 2. Thelephoraceae. 



This family contains an enormous number of species whose rela- 

 tions are not clearly known. In certain genera enlarged cells known 

 as cystidia are found among the basidia often difficult to make out 

 in weathered specimens ; in others these take the form of bristles 

 which are persistent even when the hymenial surface is old, and 

 can be seen with a lens or more readily under a low power of the 

 microscope. In some genera the basidia are attached directly to 

 the mycelial layer ; in those more differentiated an intermediate 

 fibrous layer is developed between. We have representatives of 

 the following genera : 



1. Hymenium without cystidia. 2. 

 Hymenium roughened with bristle-like cystidia. 8. 



2. Resupinate, with no intermediate fibrous layer. 3. 

 Ascending, pileate or stalked (rarely wholly resupinate). 5. 



3. Spores colorless throughout. 4. 

 Spore contents colored, membrane uncolored. Aleurodiscus. 

 Spore membrane yellowish-brown. Coniophora. 



4. Spores sessile. Corticium. 

 Spores stalked. Michenera. 



5. Context formed of different layers, leathery or woody; hymenium 



mostly smooth ; spores colorless. Stereum. 



Context of a single mostly uniform layer. 6. 



6. Coriaceous, pileate or branched ; hjTnenium smooth or slightly warty. 



Thelephora. 



Fleshy (smoothish) ; terrestrial or rarely epixylous, cup-shaped or um- 

 brella-shaped, stalked. Craterellus. * 



Ivlembranous, cylindric, tubular or cup-shaped ; mostly small, epixy- 

 lous. 7. 



7. Growing singly, mostly cup-shaped with flaring sides. Cyphella. 

 Growing in dense clusters, mostly short tubular. Solenia. f 



*Peck (Bull. N. Y. Museum i : 44-48) gives a synopsis and descrip- 

 tions of the five species growing in New York. 



t Saccardo and others place this genus among the Polyporaceae. The 

 species externally resemble small species of Peziza^ 



