Clavarias of the United States and Canada 5 



three-quarters or the whole of the diameter of the spore, the 

 spore was discharged. The spore and drop were shot away from 

 the sterigma together, the spore doubtless with the drop clinging 

 to it as in other Hymenomycetes. The four spores of each ba- 

 sidium were discharged successively in the course of a few min- 

 utes." 



Buller makes the mistake of saying that the basidia of Clav- 

 ariae have four sterigmata and four spores. There are numerous 

 exceptions to this. He expresses doubt as to the presence of a 

 hymenium on the top of the club in C. pistillaris. We have found 

 that the hymenium does in fact completely cover the top (see also 

 Harper, Mycologia 5 : 263. 1913). 



I have made few references to Rafinesque's unrecognizable 

 species. The curious may find them in Burt's monograph. 



The genus Clavaria as at present constituted is so large and 

 polymorphic as to be impossible of definition except in the most 

 general terms and then only vaguely and without sharp distinctions 

 from its relatives. The family Clavariaceae as represented with 

 us is usually divided into six genera, Lachnocladium. Pterula, 

 Clavaria, Pistillaria, Typhula and Physalacria.* Of these, Pistil- 

 laria and Typluila cannot be satisfactorily separated from each 

 other, and can with difficulty be distinguished from certain small 

 Clavarias. In several slender Clavarias the stems are sharply 

 distinct from the clubs, thus leading to Typhula, while such species 

 as C. mucida, and C. vernalis lead directly to Pistillaria. The 

 presence of a sclerotium at the base is sufficient to separate some 

 species of Typhula and Pistillaria from Clavaria, but a sclerotium 

 is absent in other species. The genus Lachnocladium was estab- 

 lished to include those species of tough structure and with tomen- 

 tose surface, but as now constituted it is in complete confusion 

 with Clavaria (see p. 194). 



I am not attempting to treat other genera of Clavariaceae, but 

 am including the only species of Lachnocladium I find in Chapel 

 Hill and also the two largest American species of Typhula, one 

 of which is commonly referred to Clavaria. 



* I exclude Sparassis, which is now known to belong to the Thelcphoraccae. See 

 Journ. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc. 36: 193. 1921. Physalacria has also been excluded 

 recently (see p. 8). The genus Acurtis was established by Fries to contain Schweinitz's 

 C. gigantea. I have examined the authentic specimen in the Curtis Herbarium and 

 agree with Burt that it is an aborted agaric. 



