A MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS PODAXIS DESV. (= PODAXON FR.). 69 



Westerness, Port Appin, 1885, C. Bailey; Dumbarton, Kilpatriek 

 Hills, 1889, L. Watt, comm. A. Bennett; Kerry S., Caragb Lake, 

 1889, B. W. Scully, 



var. crassa. — Westmoreland, Grasmere, 1884, T. A. Cotton, 

 comm. A. Bennett. 



N. opaca Ay.— Kent W., 1888, J. G. ; Renfrew, 1887, R. Kid- 

 ston ; Selkirk, 1876, A. Craiq Christie, herb. BosweU; Haddington, 

 1861, J. T. BosweU, herb. BosweU; Kincardine, 1860, J. B. Syme, 

 herb. BosweU. 



Explanation of Plate 296. —a, Nitella Nordstedtiana, nobis ; plant natural 

 size, from specimen in Dr. Ward's herbarium, b, Branch, from specimen sent 

 to us fresh by Mr. A. Bennett, c, Ditto, x 19. r>, End-segments of fertile 

 branchlets, x 150. e, Fruiting branchlet, x 32. f, Fruit, x 60. a, Oospore, 

 x 60. h, Part of surface of oospore, x 375 (after photo, by J. Guardia). 

 i, Forking, with antheridium and young fruit, x 60. k, N. tenuissima, Kuetz. ; 

 end-segments of fertile branchlets, x 150. l, Ditto, oospore, x 60. m, Ditto, 

 part of surface of oospore, x 375 (after photo, by J. Guardia). 



A MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS PODAXIS Desv. 



(= PODAXON Fr.). 



By George Massee. 



(Concluded from p. 39.) 



Affinities. 



From what has already been said, it will be seen that we are 

 dealing with a genus showing considerable latitude in the mode of 

 spore-formation, in the most typical species the spores are produced 

 as asci of peculiar form and mode of arrangement, and in searching 

 for homologous structures we find the nearest approach in the 

 subterranean fungi constituting the Hypogcd, which are divided into 

 three groups, the Hymenogastrece, or basidiosporous division ; the 

 Tuberacece, characterized by having the spores produced in asci ; 

 and the Elaphomyceta, also ascigerous, but so evidently distinct in 

 many important points from the Tuberacece that Tulasne considered 

 the division of ordinal value, and expressed his views as to its 

 relative position as follows: — "Elaphomycetes Tuberaceis genuinis 

 quoad fructificationem analogi, structura morphosisque floccoso- 

 pulveracea sicca ab eis toto coelo differunt et ad Lycoperdeos 

 btisidiosporos accedunt, qua propter fungus utriusque famihae medii 

 oonnectere videntur."* 



The FAaphomycettc, as already stated, are truly ascigerous, by 

 which I mean that one or more spores produced by free cell- 

 formation appear in a motber-cell, from which they eventually 

 escape, the wall of the mother-cell forming no part of the walls of 

 the daughter-cells, but remaining usually for some time in a 



* 'Fungi Hypogad,' p. 101. 



