Native or liLackJeUou:^- Hread. 1019 



probably take a number of years to attain then* full size wliicli will of 

 necessity vaiy according- to the amount of material available. 

 Decaying" wood found in the very heart of some of these sclerotia, as 

 in tlie specimen shown in Fig*. 4a, and the formation of .sclerotia 

 around decaying- roots in the soil, suggest that in some cases at 

 least, the hyphae may directly give rise to them, without the inter- 

 ve'.tion of rhizomor])hs, when there is })lenty of nutritive material at 

 hand. 



I have just received numerous specimens of native bread, some of 

 which may be seen in Fig. 56, through the kindness of Mr. Nobelius, 

 of PJmerald, from which I hope to grow the fructification and produce 

 the spores, so that when sown in soil taken from the spot where the 

 native bread originally grew, they may germinate and allow their 

 history to be traced. Balls of earth with hyphae running through 

 them have also been secured, and they too will be watched for further 

 development. 



Technical Description. 



The technical description of the fungus is now given, s(; that it 

 will be possible to determine afterwards whether there are more than 

 one species of native bread in Australia. 



Pohfporus mylittae, C. Si' M. 



Pileus corky, firm, creamy white or yellowish white, generally round with 

 indentations and margin upturned, flesh chalky white, solitary and about three inches 

 across or several coalesced (at least three) and irregular, four inches across. 



Stalk arising from a downy base, sub-central, solid, similarly coloured to pileus, 

 round or deformed, ^ — 1^ inches high. 



Pores angular, white, adnate, comparatively shallow, variable in size, A— 1 mm. 

 across. 



Spores hyaline, smooth elongated ellipsoid, slightly apiculate at base, (j — (i^ x 2h — ^i 

 microns.* 



Arising from the sclerotium known as Mylitta austruUs, Berk. Victoria, New 

 South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania. 



Dr. Cooke describes the pileus as single or 2 or 3 together, 

 white, and about 4 inches in diameter, and the spores as elliptical 

 with an oblique basal apiculus, smooth, 8x4 microns. 



Professor Saccardo also desci'ibes the pileus as white or whitish, 

 and over 6 inches in diameter, presumably solitary. The spores are 

 given as globular, scarcely apiculate, hyaline, 4^-5 microns in 

 diameter. 



Mr. Baker grew four distinct specimens on the two halves of the 

 same sclerotium. The upper surface of the pileus was at first of an 

 orange brown color in the centre, with a mauve band slightly 

 removed from the edge, and resembling a poached egg in form and 

 color when viewed from above. The diameters of the two largest 

 were 3 and 4 inches respectively, and no spores were detected. 



A micron is ^^J-jj^ of an inch. 



