POLYPOREAE OF SOUTH AFRICA. 247 



The descriptions of these fungi are very scattered, and to 

 many quite inaccessible ; hence it appeared desirable to issue them 

 in a form which would make their study and identification more 

 accessible to South African students. 



To the gentlemen who have favoured me with specimens and 

 whose names are appended in the text I am most grateful, and 

 especially to Mr. J. D. Keet, whose large and excellently preserved 

 collections of these fungi from the Eastern Cape Forest Conservancy 

 have been the foundation for this study. 



Unfortunately we cannot claim that all the South African 

 Polypores have as yet been collected, but rather than delay publi- 

 cation the writer considered that a better purpose would be served 

 by publishing on the species known to him at present and at a later 

 date to issue an addendum. 



Specimens of the fungi herein recorded and not represented in 

 the Herbarium of the Division of Botany of the Department of 

 Agriculture, Pretoria, have been deposited there, and this institu- 

 tion is thanked for the loan of books and access to a few specimens 

 not in my collection. 



General Account. 



The members of the family Polyporaceae are easily recognised 

 by the fact that they have their spores borne on the interior sur- 

 faces of tubes or pores (hence the name). In a comprehensive sense 

 this family embraces the subfamilies Boleteae, Merutieae and Poli/- 

 poreae. Without entering into details we can briefly separate these 

 subfamilies as follows: — 



1. Hymenophore (i.e., pore layer) separable from the context 

 or flesh of the fructification. Boleteae. 



1. Hymenophore not separable as above. 



2. Pores reduced to shallow pits separated by narrow 



ridges or reticulations. Merulieae. 



2. Pores well developed and varying in size and form. 



Polj/poreac. 



We are here concerned only with the latter sub-family. 



The sporophores, as the fructifications of the Polyporeae are 

 called, are well-known objects to most people, forming, as many of 

 them do, the familiar "brackets" or "shelves" on living trees or 

 old stumps. Though the majority occur on wood, a few (e.g., 

 Polyporus nigro-luridus) are terrestrial. 



Form of the sporophores. The fruiting body of the pore- 

 fungi either show a distinct cap or shelf when they are said to be 

 pileate or are more or less spread out flat on the substratum and 

 are said to be resupinate. Pileate forms may either be sessile or 

 elevated by a stipe. In some species the form is fixed and little 

 variation is seen, whereas in others it varies. 



Thus Polyporus lucidus may be either sessile or stipitate and 

 many pileate species (such as P. gilvus) show sub-resupinate or 

 even entirely resupinate forms. In stipitate forms the stipe may 



