458 Trayisactions . — Botany. 



Order VIII. Fungi. 

 Genus 60. Peziza, Dillenms. 

 (§ Lachnea.) 

 1. P. (L.) spencer ii, sp. nov. 



Gregarious, often sub-coalescent and adhering at base in 

 small clusters, partly imbedded in the soil, and fixed by the 

 centre and by a few small divergent rootlets. Cup sessile, of 

 various shapes and sizes, usually more or less globular de- 

 pressed, ^in.-liin. diameter, urceolate, at first nearly closed, 

 afterward opening circularly, and often becoming explanate, 

 breaking into several irregular and large ragged lobes ; thickish, 

 fleshy, somewhat brittle; margin thin, slightly and irregularly 

 lacerate and toothed, recurved : outioarclly dirty- white inclin- 

 ing to a lightish-brown, roughish, deeply wrinkled below ; 

 wrinkles smooth, sub-radiating from the centre, slightly yet 

 thickly puberulent in depressions, particularly about the base ; 

 hairs white : inwardly light reddish-brown, very largely 

 wrinkled yet smooth ; ascus broadly linear, cylindrical, regu- 

 lar, Ygipoin., containing 8 sporidia ; sporidia elliptic, free, dis- 

 tinct, obliquely posited, joVo^n. ; nucleus (apparently) single, 

 as in some other of our described New Zealand species, or ; 

 paraphyses slender, ^J^^in., 3-septate at top. 



Hah. On the bare ground in the garden of W. I. Spencer, 

 Esq., F.L.S., Scinde Island, Napier; Sept., 1889. 



Ohs. I. This is the largest species of Peziza yet found in 

 New Zealand. It has a very striking appearance when fresh, 

 and grew pretty plentifully in one spot of a few square yards. 

 Dr. Spencer (to whom I am again indebted both for specimens 

 and the accurate microscopical measurements given above) 

 informs me that, though plentiful, he had only noticed them 

 in that part of his garden which had lately received a quantity 

 of fresh stable-manure ; and also, " with respect to the nuclei, 

 mine show no nucleus, but a quantity of granular matter; 

 they also exhibit a very distinct hilum, with faint concentric 

 elliptical lines, not unlike w^hat is seen in starch-grains ; how- 

 ever, they do not polarize light, so they are not starch- 

 granules : others are filled with fine granular matter, and do 

 not show the hilum. I examined sporidia not only in the 

 asci, but also many that had been extruded, and which I 

 therefore presumed to be mature. It would be interesting 

 to know whether these intercellular bodies ever make their 

 appearance, and, if so, at what stage." (Dr. Spencer, in lit.) 

 II. While my specimens were drying I observed, on my 

 placing them in strong sunlight, that their sporidia were 

 ejected in cloudy puffs, with apparently elastic force, and this 

 was caused by the least agitation in carefully removing them. 



