64 FETCH : TIEVTSTONS OF 



This has recently been collected on elephant dung at Hak- 

 gala. The unexpanded fungus is globose, white, slightly tomen- 

 tose, about 1'25 mm. in diameter. It opens with from four to 

 six, almost upright, small teeth which are reddish yellow 

 internally. The open fungus is somewhat urceolate. The 

 peridiolum is oval, shining, and red-brown : it is about one 

 millimetre long and "75 mm. in diameter. The spores in the 

 ejected peridiola are oblong oval, hyaline, 5-5-5 x 3^. 



It differs from Sphcerobolus stellatus, Tode, in the colour 

 of the fresh peridiola and the size and shape of the spores. 



20.— IVIatula poroniseformis (B. & Br.), Mass. 



The genus Michenera was established by Berkeley and 

 Curtis in 1869, being founded on a species from Cuba which 

 they named M. artocreas. In describing the fungi of Ceylon 

 Berkeley and Broome discovered among Thwaites' specimens 

 another species which they considered a member of the same 

 genus as the Cuban specimen, but without assigning any 

 reason, they changed the generic name to Artocreas, naming 

 the Ceylon species Artocreas poroniiformis , and the Cuban 

 Artocreas Micheneri. They afterwards state (Journ. Linn. 

 Soc. XV., p. 83) that Artocreas is sjmonymous with Michenera, 

 but they do not give any reason for the change. 



Ever since, the position of the genus has been doubtful. 

 Berkeley and Broome placed it after Corticium, and Saccardo 

 follows them in including it among the Thelephorem. Massee 

 (Journ. R. Micr. Soc, April, 1888, p. 173) states that M. poro- 

 niiformis falls between Nidularice and Hymenogastreoe, and 

 places it in a new family Matulece, evidently differing from 

 those who have considered its structure similar to that of the 

 Cuban species. Patouillard (Bull. Soc. Myc, 1891, p. 42) 

 refers Michenera to the Uredinece, after an examination of 

 Michenera artocreas. Hennings (Engler-Prantl., Pflanzen- 

 familien, pt. 170, p. 120) follows Saccardo's arrangement, 

 including both species under Michenera and putting the genus 

 among the Thelephorece ; he gives copies of Patouillard's 

 figures, which show that the arrangement of the spores in 

 M. artocreas is quite different from that which obtains in 

 M. poroniceformis. 



