General Features 31 



then divided into the Operculates and Inoperculates. Only the 

 former are considered in this work and probably the operculate 

 cup-fungi are about as well defined as any section of the fungi. 

 The Elvelaceae and Geoglossaceae cannot be considered in 

 the same section, as has been done by Lindau, since the one 

 family is made up of operculate species and the other of in- 

 operculate. Only two families of operculate cup-fungi are here 

 recognized, the Pezizaceae and Elvelaceae. 



The family Pezizaceae has then been divided into eight tribes, 

 in the segregation of which spore characters have been per- 

 mitted to play a part. As the details on which these tribes are 

 based are treated fully in the body of the work which follows, it 

 seems unnecessary to discuss them here. 



20. Geographical Distribution 



Like other higher fungi, many of the cup-fungi are cosmo- 

 politan or widely distributed over the surface of the earth, 

 apparently having little regard for climate, altitude or other 

 factors which have such a powerful influence on the distribution 

 of the higher plants. Some, however, seem to be restricted to 

 tropical regions but here the climatic influence may be only 

 indirect. As already indicated, most of the operculate cup- 

 fungi are saprophytic, growing on decaying wood and humus 

 resulting from decaying plant remains. As the climate deter- 

 mines the nature of the phanerogamic flora, so it determines the 

 type of humus found in any given region. If a saprophyte 

 chances to be a selective feeder, its occurrence will be governed 

 accordingly, and might be thus indirectly influenced by climate. 



Where a saprophyte is not too selective in its habits and the 

 substratum is essentially the same it seems to thrive equally 

 well in tropical and temperate regions. While collecting in the 

 Rocky Mountains the writer was impressed with the number of 

 species found at high altitude there which were identical with 

 those collected at low altitude around New York City. On 

 the other hand, forms which were naturally confined to certain 

 kinds of coniferous wood or branches were restricted to those 

 regions where this particular conifer grew. The altitude seemed 

 to be only an indirect factor in determining the distribution of 

 the fungus. Species of Lamprospora were found among mosses 

 at snow-line in the mountains and a few hundred feet above sea 

 level in New York, where the substrata were apparently similar. 



