128 Clavarias of the United States and Canada 



mented state. In addition to this character C. formosa is recog- 

 nized by its compound base appearing like several plants closely 

 pressed or fused together, by the pinkish body and yellowish tips, 

 by the slightly bitterish and not very brittle flesh, and by the thick, 

 rough spores. Forms of C. subbotrytis with pink body and yel- 

 lowish tips are much more brittle when fresh and not friable when 

 dry, and the taste and the spores are quite different. 



In the herbarium of the University of Paris one good collec- 

 tion is correctly determined (Desmazieres, No. 419) ; others from 

 various places are different. At Kew Gardens there are typical 

 plants of our C. formosa determined as C. aurea by Cooke (Here- 

 ford, 1878). The pointed base, chalky flesh and plump, warty 

 spores distinctly marking them. They are now in the C. flava 

 fascicle, but are not referred to as C. flava by Cotton and Wake- 

 field. Our plants do not turn violet and then black when bruised, 

 as is said by Cotton and Wakefield to be the case with the plant 

 which they interpret as C. formosa. 



In the Albany Herbarium this species is found under four dif- 

 ferent names, — C. formosa, C. densa, C. compdcta (unpublished), 

 and C. formosa var. pallida (unpublished). The type of C. densa 

 is nearly destroyed, but a plant from Round Lake, N. Y., labelled 

 by Peck C. densa with a question is certainly this. The spores 

 of the type are rough, 4.5-5 x 8.2-9. 5 [x (our measurements). The 

 northern plants seem to have spores that average shorter. The 

 plant above mentioned labelled C. compacta has spores 4.5-4.8 x 

 7.5-8.2[x, rough. We have one small plant from Chapel Hill (No. 

 2688) with chalky flesh and all the other ear-marks of this species 

 in which the spores are quite short (4-5 x 7-7.8jjl). 



This species is exceptional among the larger Clavarias in that 

 it may be determined with certainty from the type in Persoon's 

 herbarium. It is represented there by one good plant which has 

 all the distinguishing characteristics in the dried state that are 

 observable in our plants, including the chalky flesh and identical 

 spores, which are 4-5 x 8-ll[/.. As Persoon's description and his 

 good illustration agree perfectly, there is no doubt that our plants 

 are correctly interpreted. Gillet's illustration shows clearly that 

 his opinion is the same. There is, however, much confusion to be 



