196 Clavarias of the United States and Canada 



none or delicate and scarcely projecting; spores brown, ovoid or 

 tear-shaped, smooth or echinulate. The flesh is homogeneous or 

 with a hardened central axis." 



This is considerably more inclusive than Levielle's genus in 

 regard to the tomentum, which may be present or absent, but more 

 restricted on the other hand by emphasis on the hard, almost 

 woody texture and brown spores. This definition would exclude 

 all species of Clavaria from the United States and Canada now 

 placed in Lachnocladium by various authors. In a somewhat 

 earlier treatment of the genus ( Journ. de Bot. 3 : 23, 33. 1889) he 

 divides it into three sections, as Lachnocladium Lev., Coniocladium 

 Pat. and Dendrocladium Pat., stating that the last two sections 

 should be placed in the Thelephoraceae. In his Essai taxonomique 

 he reduced the sections to two, as (A) Dendrocladium (spores 

 verrucose, asperulate or aculeate) and (B) Coniocladium (spores 

 smooth). As we are treating here only one species of Lachno- 

 cladium (Merisma) we do not think it an appropriate time to re- 

 organize the genus. Numerous new species have been recently 

 described. 



Lachnocladium semivestitum B. & C. Grevillea 1 : 161. 1873. 



Plates 78-80 and 90 



Plants tree-like, 2.7-6.3 cm. high, the distinct terete stem about 

 2 cm. long and 1.3-3.2 mm. thick, branched at top into several 

 more or less compressed leaders which diverge above and rebranch 

 in a somewhat palmate way into several more terete secondaries 

 which may or may not again branch sparingly, the tips when grow- 

 ing blunt, whitish and finely pubescent, after maturity shrinking 

 to a point and becoming darker; color all over pale buffy straw 

 (pale avellaneous) except the tips which after maturity soon 

 wither and become blackish brown. Surface glabrous except the 

 growing tips and somewhat incrassated base, no plush-like sterile 

 areas, the line between the hymenium and the stem not distinct. 

 Texture tough throughout, the stem almost unbreakable by the 

 fingers. In drying the entire plant becomes dull drab except for 



