328 University of California Piiblications in Botany [Vol. 6 



plant was under consideration. However, in the slide which he left of 

 No. 189, the section is clearly of Piersonia. No slide of Pachyphloeus 

 ligericus, so-called, is found, so whether the discrepancy here was 

 simply a result of accidental shifting of labels or confusing of speci- 

 mens, can not be determined. The fact that the date and the locality 

 for the material under both of these names, as well as of the two 

 Harkness Piersonias, are almost identical, may or may not be signifi- 

 cant, as much of the Harkness collection was made in Placer County. 

 No. 44 exhibits all the characters of Piersonia alveolata as previ- 

 ously described, but the material of No. 189 is badly worm-eaten and 

 the resulting stimulated growth of tissue, in the form of coarse, colored 

 hyphae, has so obscured the structure that it is impossible to determine 

 with certainty the relation of venae externae to the gleba, and the size 

 of the venae internae. The asci, too, have for the most part, lost their 

 spores, so that the number in an ascus is uncertain. Consequently it 

 is difficult to place this species exactly, but the structure, so far as it 

 can be made out, is like that of P. alveolata. 



Piersonia bispora. sp. nov. 



Plate 28, fig. 5 



Piersonia (unnamed), Bot. Zeit., 1908, Heft. VIII, IX, pp. 149-154. pi. 

 VI, figs. 5-10. 



Ascocarp reaching 8 cm. in diam. (generally about 6 cm.), "ferru- 

 ginous with occasional white patches ; ' ' surface scabrous, sometimes 

 somewhat pubescent ; gleba white without dots ; outer cortex coarsely 

 and irregularly hyphal, irregularly thickened hyphae often projecting 

 in form of hairs ; hyphae of subcortex more slender than those of cor- 

 tex, compactly arranged, more or less parallel; thickness of peridium, 

 360-600/x ; venae externae forming long, more or less connected, winding 

 canals through gleba, lined with fascicled, swollen-tipped paraphyses, 

 some extending into canal and forming coarse, loose, branched hyphal 

 structure similar to outer cortex; venae externae ending in small 

 chambers lined with asci ; main venae internae much broader than 

 hymenial areas, composed of loosely or somewhat compactly arranged 

 hyphae, rarely becoming pseudoparencliyiuatous ; asci club-shaped, 

 loiig-stipitate, 60-70 by 76-92/x., 1-2- (rarely more) spored, separated 

 by fascicled, somewhat swollen tipped paraphyses; spores globose, yel- 

 low or brown, minutely alveolate, walls of alveoli as wide or one-half 

 as wide as alveolar cavities, 10-11 alveoli across diameter; spores 28- 

 30/Lt, irregularly arranged in ascus; paraphyses 6-8/x at tip. "Odor of 

 j)hint at first resembling desiccated cocoanut, changing as plant dries, 

 to that of strong cream cheese." 



