532 COMPARATIVE MORPHOLOGY OF FUNGI 



Kharbush, 1927). The hyphae occupy intercellular spaces. The cells 

 of the host are stimulated to hypertrophy and hyperplasia, forming 

 swellings on the leaves or thickening and lengthening of the whole shoot. 

 The chlorophyll is destroyed and replaced by red pigment. The basidia 

 (in contrast to Kordyana) penetrate between the epidermal cells and 

 form a thin, white hymenium on the under side of the leaf. They arise 

 singly on hyphal branches, bearing two to six spores. At germination, 

 the spores form one to three septa, each of the cells putting forth a 

 slender germ tube, which, on reaching air, cuts off several narrow, filiform 

 sprout cells, pointed at each end. Sometimes the basidiospores proceed 

 directly to the formation of sprout cells which continue budding without 

 falling off at the tip, thus forming small fascicles. E. discoideum on 

 Azalea and E. Rhododendri on Rhododendron ferrugineum frequently 

 have chiastobasidia and should be placed in the Corticiaceae (Eftimiu 

 and Kharbush, 1927). 



Clavulinaceae. — This family corresponds in most details to the Cla- 

 variaceae as discussed in the Polyporales. At present only four species 

 of Clavaria (sensu latiore) are known to belong here. The limits of Clavaria 

 as given in systematic manuals include both sticho- and chiastobasidial 

 types. As the chiastobasidial forms are more numerous and the type 

 species of the genus occurs among these, the name Clavaria, according 

 to the rules of nomenclature, must be limited to the chiastobasidial 

 forms. In this case a new name should be created for the stichobasidial 

 Clavaria falcata. Schroeter proposed Clavulina for the other sticho- 

 basidial species, C. rugosa, C. cinerea and C. cristata (C. grisea) on other 

 grounds. 



The white or ashy fructifications of these five species grow in damp 

 woods or glades. In C. falcata, they are simple and unbranched (subgenus 

 Holocoryne); in C. rugosa, slightly forked, and in the other three, variously 

 branched, fruticose or dendroid (subg. Ramaria). The hyphae bear 

 numerous clamps and in the interior of the fructification are parallel 

 to the axis. At the periphery, they bend perpendicularly and form the 

 hymenium by their compact ends. The hymenium consists of basidia 

 of very unequal age; in old collapsed specimens, one may find very young 

 basidia, which have not yet formed sterigmata. 



At maturity, the basidia contain 8 nuclei as a result of a triple division 

 of the diploid nucleus. The number of sterigmata is very variable: 

 in Clavaria falcata six to eight, mostly seven, in Clavulina rugosa, in time, 

 for they are not formed simultaneously, mostly four, seldom two and in C. 

 cinerea (Fig. 353, 6 to 10) and C. cristata always two (Maire, 1902; Juel, 

 1916). As each spore contains only one nucleus, a variable number of 

 nuclei degenerate in the basidium. The third division is sometimes lack- 

 ing in C. cinerea (Bauch, 1927). The germination of basidiospores is 

 unknown. C. cristata, C. cinerea and C. rugosa are edible. 



