Thecotheus 147 



5. Ryparobius monascus Mouton, Bull. Soc. Royale Bot. Belg. 

 25: 141. 1886. (Plate 12, fig. 6.) 



?Thelebohis stercoreus Tode, Fungi Meckl. 1: 41. 1790. 

 Thelebolus nanus Heimerl, Niederost. Ascoboleen 30. 1889. 

 Thelebolus monascus Bond. Hist. Class. Discom. Eu. 79. 1907. 

 ? Thelebolus lignicola Lloyd, Myc. Notes 52: 738. 1917. 



Apothecia gregarious or scattered, at first globose, then 

 broad-ovoid, externally smooth, yellowish to brown, entirely 

 closed, finally bursting open by a rupture of the excipulum 

 through which the ascus protrudes, reaching a diameter of 

 200-300 m; asci usually one to each apothecium, but occasionally 

 two or three, ellipsoid to ovoid, often slightly constricted near 

 the upper end and with a faint suggestion of a ring, reaching a 

 length of 200-260 M and a diameter of 150-175 m, each con- 

 taining a large number of spores, the exact number difficult to 

 determine but exceeding one hundred, method of dehiscence 

 uncertain since they do not dehisce readily but usually burst 

 open irregularly; spores ellipsoid, hyaline, 3-3.5 X 5-7 /x; pa- 

 raphyses slender, septate. 



On dung of various kinds, especially abundant on goat dung; 

 more rarely on wood. 



Type locality: Europe. 



Distribution: New York; also in Europe. 



Illustrations: ?Tode, Fungi Meckl. 1: pL 7, /. 56; Rab. 

 Krypt.-Fl. P: 1080, /. 1-4; Ann. Bot. 15: />/. IS, f. 41-44, 66; 

 Heimerl, Niederost. Ascoboleen pi. l,f. 2. 



This and the preceding species differ from the other members 

 of the genus examined in that they are for a long time enclosed 

 in a surrounding sheath here referred to as the excipulum. 

 Perhaps these forms should have been referred to the genus 

 Thelebolus in which there is no true apothecium, although they 

 are referred to as such by systematists. 



Doubtful and Excluded Species 



Ryparobius niveus (Fuckel) Rehm in Rab. Kr>'pt.-Fl. V: 1102. 1896; 

 Ascobolus niveus Fuckel, Hedwigia 5: 4. 1886. This species has been reported 

 for North America by Dodge. No specimens have been seen. The species 

 is closely related to R. crustaceus (Fuckel) Rehm. 



21. THECOTHEUS Boud. Ann. Sci. Nat. V. 10: 235. 1869. 



Apothecia sessile, short-cylindric, at least when young, white 

 or whitish, minute, substance soft and waxy; asci very large, 



