292 



pecially true durin- rainy soasuns. Some species are found upon the dead 

 bark of trees and iirandifs wiilcli are U(>t in an advanced stape of decay. 

 Others are iisually found upon decorticated wood which is still sound. 

 Still others seem to prefer wood which is very rotten. Occasionally a 

 species is n.und which seems to tlourish equally well umler any or all of 

 these conditions. Especially is this true of certain species which grow 

 in great profusion both on soui.d bark and decorticated wood. 



It is thus evident from the very nature of this group of fungous 

 plants that they are of very little, if any, economic importance. Since 

 they are not parasitic, they never cause the death of living plants, and, 

 although ti-ue to fungous nature, they aid in the decay of timber already 

 dead, yet. because of the fad that they thrive only in the forest, they 

 are not destructive of timber which has been promptly removed to its 

 I.roper place of use. The chief interest, then, which attaches to them is 

 a scientitic one. Most species of Hypoxylou are large and conspicuous 

 hi comparison with most other genera of Pj'renomycetes, and therefore 

 they attra<t the attention of the collector. It is perhaps this character- 

 istic m<.re than any other which makes them interesting to the student 

 of fungi. 



The Ilypoxylons develop late in the season, passing through the 

 conidial stage during the svunmer or early autunm. The perfect stage 

 follows the conidial and arrives at maturity sometime during the fall or 

 early winter. The lime for collecting mature specimens, then, is during 

 the late autnnni ..r early winter. They persist throughout the winter, 

 liowever, and may be collected in good condition until the warm weather 

 of spring comes, when they begin to disintegrate rapidly. 



In attempting to make a key t<. the species of Hypo.xylon a great 

 .liili.ulty is encounlered. Perhaps there are few genera of fungi, or even 

 ul any gnmi- of iilaiits, which offer more ditMculty along this line than 

 11,.. t:,nns un.h>r coiisid.Mat i.ni. In the tirst place the genus itself is not 

 set olf from all other genera by distinct and unmistakable characters. 

 Tur ,>xaniple. it would tak.' an expert to distinguish with accuracy be- 



iween s ." species of Nnniiiiularia and .ertain of tlu- llyiu.xylons. This 



In.k of reliable marks of identity is even more evi.h'nt when it comes to 

 distinguishing between the various spe.'ies of Ilypoxylon. 



Most investigators who have worked with this g.Mius have attempted 

 to divHle it into groups ol doubtful extent on the basis of the form and 



