430 



eight feet high they suddenly ceased o-rowiiig, shed tht^-ir leave* 

 and died. The base of these coppice shoots at the crown of the 

 old stump was examined and the w^ood was found to be i>ermeate(i' 

 by yellowish brown lines exactly as in a case of Poria hypo- 

 hrimnea. Upon examination of the stump lower down, the wood 

 of the collar and root laterals was found to l)e soft and friable. The 

 outer layers of the wood were dee]ily stained a yellow brown ; and 

 under the l)ark the h^'pliae of a fungus had collected into a dense 

 felt-like ferruginous mass forming a plate two feet or more in 

 length and up to a foot in breadth. Adjacent was a more advanced 

 stage where the bark had fallen and a fructiticatdon forming a plate 

 16 inches by 12 was exposed. On other parts of the collar the 

 h3'phae had spread over the outside of the bark forming stout red- 

 dish strands which frequently cohered into narrow plates of hyphae. 



The above description and the effect on the wood tallies in a 

 great deal with Fetch's descri]:)tion of Po7-la In/pohrunnea but the 

 fructification is entirely different. The fructification is resupinate, 

 corky, of a ferruginous brov\Ti surface and content, rather darker 

 in the older specimen, 1 mm. thick. The pores are of medium size 

 and irregular, and the conitents reduced to a very thin stratum. 

 The setae of the pores are stout, sharp-])ointed, l."5 to 20 micro- 

 millimetres long. Spores are pear-shaped, with a- small hyaline 

 ' mucro, white, darkly opaque, smooth, 6 by 4 micromillimetres. 



From the general appearance of the fructification the fungus 

 is related to Fomes pomaceus, but its spores cannot be called hyaline. 

 Apart from this "factor it agrees "with tlie description and com- 

 parison of Fomes potnuceu.s. 



On a recent visit to Mr. CI. E. Perry, Mycologist to the Societe- 

 Internationale de Plantations et de Finance de Caoutchouc, a spe- 

 cimen of Poria hypohrunnea and its effect on rubber trees were seen. 

 Owing to the remarkable similarity of the above fungus except in 

 fructification, and of its effect upon the wood, s]3ecimens were showTi 

 to Mr. Perry, who in reply fonvarded the following note upon Poria 

 liypohrunnea. 



" Porea hypobrumiea in Malaya. In the past there has been 

 considerable confusion behveen two root diseases attacking Hevea 

 brasiliensis, Poria liypohrunnea, Petch, and Poria hypolateritia 

 (now known as Fomes pseudoferreus). They were at one time even 

 considered one and the same disease, even though the descriptions 

 published by the Ceylon and F. M. S. scientists were at variance. 

 Fomes pseudoferreus has been quite prevalent in Malaya, some 

 estates Ijeing l>adly infected. The old name, Poria, is still used by 

 the planting community for this saturated spongy condition of the 

 roots, hence the confusion. 



Through the kindness of Mr. T. Petch, Government Botanist 

 and Mycologist, Ceylon, specimens of Poria hypohrunnea, were sent 

 to this Department for our museum collection of disease specimens. 

 This Poria hypohrunnea^ Pqlcli, which heretofore was not definitely 

 known to exist in Malaya has since l>een found Iwth in Selangor and 



