NEW CEYLON FUNGI. 305 



Stalk opaque, conical, black below, white above, S-l mm. 

 long, up to 200 /^ diameter at the base, 80 m- diameter at the 

 apex, projecting into the head and continuing as a dense white 

 columella to the apex in crateriform examples, but usually 

 terminating at the base of the head in spherical examples. 

 The stalk changes from black to white either below or inside 

 the head. Lime knots forming a dense massive columella 

 extending to the apex of the sporangium, giving off horizontal 

 spine-like points 80-100 fi long, 20-40 /abroad, which end in 

 slender hyaline threads united to the sporangium wall, or in 

 spherical forms, rod-like and forking, springing from the 

 base of the sporangium, often extending to the apex, with 

 few hyaline threads, and usually not forming a columella. 

 Sporangium wall membranous, colourless, with innate lime 

 deposits. Stalk containing refuse matter, usually collapsing 

 when mounted. Spores 11-15 /^> spherical, closely spinulose, 

 violet brown. 



On the bark of Hving jak trees {Artocarpus integrijolia) ; 

 occasionally on decaying branches of the same. Peradeniya. 



Perichcena pulcherrima , Fetch, n. sp. — Sporangia spherical, 

 •3 mm. diameter, or elongated, -7 x '3 mm., sessile, 

 crowded on a netted, shining, irregular hypothaUus ; or 

 scattered, shortly stalked, with globose heads up to 4 mm. 

 diameter ; stalks sometimes connate, with two or three sporan- 

 gia on a common sfalk. Sporangium wall glossy, purple red, 

 or red brown, double, consisting of an outer granular , purple red 

 layer and a dehcate hyaline inner layer, often hexagonally 

 reticulated. Stalk -3 mm. long, -1 mm. diameter, furrowed, 

 brown, or red bro^^Ti, containing granular matter. Capilli- 

 tium of pale broAVTi, irregular, branching threads, 4 /j- diameter, 

 inflated here and there , rough ^^dth minute warts and scattered 

 blimt spines. Spores brownish, spinulose with close set 

 spines, 15-17 /^ diameter. 



On dead branches of Theobroma cacao and Erythrina 

 lithosperma , about 4 feet from the ground. Ukuwela, Ceylon. 



In mass the capillitium appears the same colour as the 

 sporangium, the spores paler. The reticulation of the sporan- 

 gium wall is not a constant feature, but it is certainly not due 

 to immaturity. 



