[ 37 ] 



V. On an edible Fungus from Tierra del Fuego, and an allied Chilian Species. 

 By the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, M.A., F.L.S. 



Read March 16th, 1841. 



A. VERY interesting account is given in 'Darwin's Researches,' p. 298, of a 

 production which occurs very commonly in Tierra del Fuego, on Fagus betu- 

 loides, and forms a very important article of food to the natives. From his 

 description, it is clear that it is referrible to the order Fungi, though its imme- 

 diate affinities are very obscure. I was, therefore, highly gratified at having 

 the specimens preserved by Mr. Darwin submitted to me for inspection by the 

 kindness of Professor Henslow ; and Mr. Darwin has himself been so good as 

 to send me his original notes. I have thus been enabled to establish a new 

 and highly curious genus, containing two well-defined species, and to ascer- 

 tain with tolerable certainty its position in the mycologic system. One or 

 two points, indeed, remain to be cleared up, but must be left to some bota- 

 nist who may have an opportunity of examining these Fungi in their place of 

 growth. 



Mr. Darwin has referred me to a posthumous list of Fungi collected by 

 Bertero, published originally in a journal, called 'Mercurio Chileno,' of which 

 a translation by Ruschenberger is given in Silliman's 'North American Jour- 

 nal/ vol. xxiii. p. 78, containing a notice of a Fungus gathered in Chile, on 

 Fagus obliqua, evidently congeneric with the Fuegian species. Mr. Darwin 

 was also so fortunate as to meet with specimens which afford materials for the 

 establishment of this second species. 



Previous to detailing the characters of the genus and species, I shall beg 

 leave to give copious extracts from Mr. Darwin's notes, which, it is to be ob- 

 served, are to be regarded as loose memoranda, affording merely materials for 

 publication, but of which the value would be much impaired by a bare analy- 

 sis ; and also to transcribe the greater part of the passage from Bertero's list. 



