16 GENERA OF FUNGI 



As has been indicated earlier, a considerable number of recently pro- 

 posed genera has been reduced to synonomy on the basis of criteria not 

 regarded as of generic value, such as unequal spore-cells, 3- and 4-celled 

 spores, subcuticular and subepidermal insertion, etc. Finally, a smaller 

 group of what might be called tentative synonyms has been obtained by 

 testing them in the key and finding no essential difference betw^een them and 

 genera already in existence. Further study is required to determine their 

 validity. 



The genera included in the lists of those of uncertain position or other- 

 wise doubtful have chiefly been so designated by various monographers and 

 especially by the revisionists, while no inconsiderable number have been 

 frankly classed as such by the proposers themselves. Where differences of 

 opinion obtain, certain genera have been listed both as dubia and synonyms ; 

 for the same reason a genus will occasionally be found both in the key and 

 as a synonym. 



Names and Terms 



In one of the aphorisms of his "Philosophia Botanica," Linne stated 

 that "Ignorant persons impose absurd names," and with the addition of 

 careless and indifferent as epithets, this remark holds good today. A century 

 later, Lindley embodied much the same conclusion in the following : '/No one 

 who has had experience in the progress of botany as a science can doubt 

 that it has been more impeded in this country by the repulsive appearance of 

 the names it employs than by any other cause whatever" (1853). Clements 

 has discussed various aspects of this problem in considerable detail (1902), 

 and more recently Hall and Clements have suggested a number of guiding 

 principles to improve the situation (1923). 



In palliation of shortcomings in the matter of names, some botanists 

 have contended that "a name is a name," implying that its character is a 

 matter of complete indifference. When it is fully realized- that the name of a 

 plant may be employed a hundred times to one contact with the plant itself, 

 it is clear that the quality of names is not a matter of little or no conse- 

 quence. While it is not necessarily true that "nomenclatorial and taxonomic 

 incompetence go hand in hand," they are too often associated. Slipshod 

 naming is incompatible with mycological work of the first quality, and no 

 one who places the interests of mycology first can be indifferent to this fact. 

 Moreover, general usage lends further warrant to this contention; the 

 great majority of names maintain a fair standard of excellence and are 

 consistent in their form. In view of the paramount rights of the thou- 

 sands of users of names, it is not too much to ask that each name pro- 

 posed be short, significant, euphonious, and both properly formed and 

 transliterated. 



In harmony with the above, the regular usage has been followed in the 

 matter of transliteration to render this uniform throughout. Names of more 

 than six syllables have been shortened in such a manner as to preserve their 



