Pileate and Clavate Tribes of Hymenomycetons Fungi. 83 



the hymenium of pileate Fungi. Indeed Dillenius* so late as 

 1719 denies that Fungi possess seeds. At tab. 65 B is a re- 

 presentation of a portion of a gill of some dimidiate Agaric re- 

 ferred to his genus Agari cum, which consists of lateral Poly par}, 

 Agarici, Hydna, &c. It is fringed with cylindrical shortly pe- 

 dicellate bodies which are called flowers, and separate seeds at 

 D. " Harum flores," he says, p. 11 f, " sunt apetali monoste- 

 mones, seu unico filamento constantes, steriles, et nudi, nempe 

 calyce, pistillo, atque staminibus destitute et vel in lacunarum 

 vel in foraminulorum ore nascentes. Semina autem rotunda 

 vel subrotunda." The flowers are evidently cells fringing the 

 margin of the gills or cavities of the hymenium. The seeds 

 are said to be hid in tubes as in FistuJina, or to adhere to the 

 external processes as in Hydnum. Again at tab. 68, under the 

 genus Suiting, which is the modern Boletus, are representations 

 of similar bodies ; and at O the so-called seeds are very clearly 

 shown in situ adhering to the interior surface of the tube with 

 their longer axis perpendicular to it, which, as far as it goes, 

 is perfectly consistent with the facts I have to bring forward. 



The same appearances are described in his genus Polyporus, 

 consisting of central-stemmed Polypori. In Frinaceus, which 

 consists of mesopous Hydna, the seeds are said to adliere to 

 the prickles. In his genus Fungus {Agaricus of authors) the 

 same things are described p. 133, with slight differences : u In 

 earundem lamellarum margine nascuntur flores apetali, nudi, 

 constantes ex mero filamento cylindrico, in nonnullis speciebus 

 solitario seu inter se distincto, in aliis vero in massam seu floc- 

 cum digesto. In superjicie autem utriusque partis supradic- 

 tarum laminarum undique nascuntur semina rotunda vel sub- 

 rotunda et minutissima, in aliquibus sigillatim dispersa, in aliis 

 quaterna sibi contigua." He also describes and figures the 

 utricles of the Coprini, whose office he believes to be the pre- 

 vention of the gills coming in contact. The flowers are here 

 again very evidently short single hair-like cells, or fascicles of 

 them. No definite information is given with respect to the 

 fructification of the clavate Hymenomycetes. 



On the whole then Micheli clearly considered the seeds as 



* Appendix ad Catalogum Plan tar um sponte circa Gissam nascentium, 

 1719, p. 72. 



G 2 



