Native or Blackfeilows' Bread. 1013 



iu rotten trunks and have described it according'ly. From specimens 

 sent to England by Messrs. Lawrence and Gunn, it was scientifically 

 named and described by Berkeley in 1839 as Mylitta audralis and 

 since its true position could not be determined in the absence of 

 fructification, specimens were afterwards being constantly examined 

 by scientific men, in the hope of finding some clue to its real 

 nature. In 1848, Mr. Berkeley came to the conclusion that it was 

 allied to the truffles, and in 1851 it was examined by the brothers 

 Tulasne, who saw in the cells of which it was composed some 

 resemblance to those of a Polyporus and also to those of a truffle. 



About forty years later in 1890, Colin and Schroeter investigated 

 these and similar tuber-like underground growths, and Dr. Fischer in 

 1891 examined a specimen sent to him by the late Baron Von Mueller, 

 but no further advance was made in our knowledge until 1892, when 

 the fructification was, for the first time, described by Dr. Cooke and 

 the fungus named Polyportis myUtta. 



There is another Polyporus (P. tuherasterj which is associated 

 with a firm sclerotium-like structure and which was also supposed to 

 be a sort of truffle, but it turns out to be simply a strongly develo})ed 

 mycelium traversing balls of earth, which it has the property of 

 collecting together in a compact form. It is grown especially in 

 Italy, on account of its edible qualities where it is known as Pietra 

 fiDit/oja (fungus stone). 



Nature of the Fungus— A Sclerotium. 



The native bread is found buried in the ground like a potato, 

 and does not, as far as I have seen, give any surface indication of its 

 occurrence, although, when growing rapidly, it is said to crack the 

 ground above it. It is usually met with in ploughing, grubbing 

 trees, or ciitting roads, and may be a few inches or several feet from 

 the surface. It is generally somewhat round or oval in shape when 

 fresh, but it may become wrinkled and irregular on drying. Occa- 

 sionally it may assume a comparatively slender elongated form as in 

 Fig. 4 a, h, and I am indebted for these specimens to my colleague, 

 Mr. French, who obtained them at Emerald. It varies in colour from 

 brownish to blackish, and is found from the size of a pea or hazel 

 nut to that of a man's head. The weight is likewise variable, but a 

 specimen weighing 89 lbs. was sent by the late Mr. A. V. Miller, of 

 Tasmania,' to the British Pharmaceutical Conference in 1884. Even 

 heavier specimens have been known according to the late R. Brough 

 Smyth, who writes, in his work on the Aborigines of Victoria, as 

 follows : — " The Native Truffle {Mylitta australisj a subterranean 

 fungus was much sought after by the natives ; when cut it is in 

 appearance somewhat like brown bread. I have seen large pieces 

 weighing several pounds, and in some localities, occasionally the fungus 

 weighing 50 lbs. is found." At Emerald, where specimens are very 

 common, I weighed one of the largest, and found it 19 lbs.. Fig. ha, 

 although it had been three months out of the soil, a,nd so allowed to 

 harden and dry up. The soil here is volcanic and dark chocolate. 



