THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 144 



II. elegans ; section Haeckeria — H. ozothamnoides, II. cassiniacea, 

 II. squamata ; section Pithocarpa — H. carymbulosa ; section 

 Acomis — H. rutidosis, II. macra, II. gracillima. Let me yet 

 add, that Humea, thus extended, differs from Helichrysum, 

 Helipterum and Rutidosis only in the complete absence of the 

 pappus ; the form of that organ being also the only mark for 

 distinguishing these three genera from each other. 

 December, 1892. 



"NATIVE BREAD." 

 Under the heading of "A Mystery Solved," the following 

 paragraph appeared in the Gardeners' Chronicle of 20th October, 

 1892 : — "For the past fifty-three years a curious production has 

 been known to mycologists as occurring buried in the ground in 

 Australia, and known to the colonists as ' Native Bread.' In 

 1839, Berkeley described in the 'Annals of Natural History' 

 (p. 326) as Mylitta australis, under which name it was figured by 

 Corda, in his ' Icones Fungorum.' Although no fruit has ever 

 been discovered, there was a suspicion of its being related to the 

 Truffles, from the fact of its being subterranean, and from the 

 mottled appearance of its internal substance. It has often been 

 found as large as a child's head ; but when dry, it is as hard as 

 stone. Latterly, there have been many insinuations of a 

 suspicion that this production was nothing more than a large 

 Sclerotium, a suspicion now proved to be true. Nearly twelve 

 months since I was informed that a specimen had been found, 

 with a mushroom growing from it ; and now that a specimen has 

 been sent to me, with the fungus growing upon it, the whole 

 mystery is clear. The Sclerotium or Mylitta was about 6 inches 

 in diameter, and from it was growing a pure white Polyporus, 

 closely allied to Polyporus ovinus. In the present instance, there 

 were two individuals growing so closely together as to appear but 

 one, and the pair almost as large as a man's fist, perfectly white 

 and fleshy, but becoming tough when dry. The pileus was 

 convex, almost hemispherical, and finely velvety on the surface, 

 supported upon a short thick stem not exceeding an inch in 

 length. The tubes of the hymenium 7 millimetres long, and the 

 angular pores about half a millimetre in diameter, with an acute 

 edge. It is intended to describe this new species fully and 

 technically under the name of Polyporus mylitfce (Cooke and 

 Massie), but such an interesting discovery should be made known 

 at once. The specimen alluded to was found in South Australia, 

 but I have heard of another in Victoria. — M. C. Cooke." 



[Mrs. W. Martin reports having sent to Dr. Cooke for 

 identification a specimen of Native Bread (Mylitta australis), 

 with the fruiting form attached to it, and which has been named 

 Polyporus mylitta;, and having observed the curious gathering of the 

 hyphae, which start from the spores and gradually form the so- 

 called " Native Bread."— Ed. Vict. Nat.] 



