THK SI'OKOPHORE. 13 



The youngest part j>;ro\vs out over the older jx^rtioiis. wliicli niiikes 

 old spoiophores look soniewhjit suk-atf. riic main hody »>!' the mature 

 sporophore is very hard and woody. It is obscundy zoned and ])ale 

 blown or rust color. The jjores arc \ cry rcy'ularly stratosc. They 

 are short and of regndar cross section. The yountifcst ones are white, 

 the older ones red l)rown. They extend from the point whei'c ti\e 

 sporo[)hore touches the l)ark almost to the edtic of the sporo})hon\ 



There is some ([uestion as to what name ou«^"ht to be oi\'(Mi to this 

 fungus. Two species of Polyporufi ofrowing on the ash have been 

 described — PoIijjHirnx frdxttn^tix (Hull.) Fr. and Pnh/j>nrn-^ fr<(,i'!n- 

 ophilus Pk. The European fungus is described 1)V RuUiard" and 

 Fries* as sessile, corky-woody, azonate. at first sujooth, then concen- 

 trically Hulcate, at tirst white, then red brown or brown, pale inside, 

 pores minute, short, at lirst white, then red brown or rust coloi-. This 

 description accords fairly well with the specimens distributed in 

 Thiimen's Myc. Univ., No. Sor>, except that these specimens <'an hardh^ 

 be called "woody." In ISSl Professor Peck describ(>d a fungus, 

 PolyjxiriiK yr(/.rhii)j)/u7t/.'<, growing on ash trees in AU>any County, 

 N. Y.. as follows:'' 



Pileus sessile, thiclc, ci»rky, subtriquetrous, narrow, somewhat Recurrent behind, 

 the first year whitish, with a minute whitish tomentum or hairiness, then gray, 

 finally blackish, in (il<l specimens concentrically snlcate, riinose, the substance 

 within obscurely zcjiied, at first whitish, then isabelline or pale tawny, the margin 

 ol)tnse; pores stratose, plane or subconvex, small, nearly eipial, subrotund, the dis- 

 sepiments obtuse, entire, whitish; spores white, broadly elliptical, .0003-.00035 inch 

 long, .00025-.0003 inch broad. Pileus 2— i inches long, 1-1.5 inches broad. 



A comparison of the two descriptions will show that they are almost 

 the same, differing in small details. Anj'one who has tried to separate 

 the species of this variable genus will have become impressed with 

 the inadequacy of manv of the older descriptions, and in the present 

 instance it becomes a matter of extreme difficulty to determine whether 

 the descriptions of Bulliard and Fries fit the American fungus. In 

 most respects the latter agrees with the descriptions, except in the red- 

 browni pores. The European specimens seen have red- brown pores. 

 On the other hand, there can be no doubt as to the identity of the ash 

 fiuigus with PolyporiiH fra.rhKiphllns Pk. The decurrent pileus, at 

 first wath a whitish tomentum, later gray, and finally black, can not be 

 mistaken for any other. In view of the fact that the only European 

 specimens of Polyporus fraxineus available do not agree with the 

 present fungus it is deemed best to retain the name given by Profes- 

 sor Peck for the present. It may be found necessar^^ to make it a 

 sjmonym of Polypornf^ fraxineus after a further comparison with 

 European material. 



« Bulliard, ]M. Hist, des Champignons de la France, 1: 341, 1741. 



'' Fries, Elias. Systema ]Myc. , 1 : 421 ; Raljenhorst's Kryptogamenflora, 1 : 421, 1S84. 



'■Peck, C. H. Thirty-Fifth Report, New York State Museum, 1881, p. 136. 



