302 FUNGI. 



Most persons have remarked the black blisters which 

 constantly appear on sycamore trees in the autumn, this 

 is a mould belonging to the group just mentioned ; it 

 only attains maturity when the leaves have lain long on 

 the wet ground- A similar mould infests the leaves of 

 willow, and another the stems of nettle, A group of line 

 shaped or oval plants, like mere discoloured seams on 

 dead branches, is called Hysterium : many of the species 

 are very common, none interesting except to the eager 

 funo;olooist. 



The third order of the Ascus fungi is one which con- 

 tains a very great number of species, Splmriacei ; here 

 the asci are enclosed beneath a woody or membranous 

 covering : a few are of considerable size, but a vast num- 

 ber are microscopic. 



The first group, Cordiceps, has fleshy heads and elon- 

 gated stems. 



The Soldier Cordiceps (C. militaris, Plate XIX., fig. 

 20) is the prettiest of the family; it grows parasitic upon 

 dead pupae. I found it in woods in Herefordshire, and 

 Kent, and it has been sent to us from the Yorkshire 

 moors. Several other species are parasitic on sedge, 

 furze, reeds, and larvae ; and one, the terrible parasite of 

 cereals, may claim to be the most dreadful of the fungus 

 poisons. 



All cereals are subject to this Erggt (C. purpurea) ; but 

 it most frequently attacks the rye. Flour made of the 

 ergotted grain is unwholesome; and if taken in quantity, 

 causes gangrene. One season a large proportion of the 

 rye grown along the coast of Normandy was ergotted, 

 and the poor being in a very great measure dependent 



