98 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



as also A. cerinus, A. nummularis, and A. clytocyhoides. 

 Polyporei were also in great abundance, especially Polyporus 

 australis and P. cinnabarinus. The curious family which has 

 spines and teeth instead of gills or pores — the Hydnei — was 

 well represented ; generally speaking they are somewhat rare. 

 The graceful Clavaria was seen everywhere, their coral-like stems 

 variously coloured, some yellow, others bright red, more of a 

 pearly-white. 



A beautiful little fungus was fairly common, growing on decayed 

 wood. It is of a lovely bright blue colour, and was sent to 

 Europe many years ago for identification. Dr. Cooke considered 

 it a Leptonia, but required further specimens for specific identi- 

 fication. These, however, have not yet been furnished, for in his 

 work on Australian fungi no description of it is given. The 

 nearest approach to it is the description of A. (Leptonia) lampro- 

 pus, but this differs in many characters — it is not fleshy, it is 

 striate, and it is not squamulose ; and although A. lampropus is 

 noticed as of a steel-violet colour, its habitat is quite different, as 

 it grows on the ground in pastures, whilst our specimens were 

 always found on decayed trees. Another species we found was 

 Calocera digitata. These curious fungi seem to flourisli in the 

 Dandenong Ranges, where they grow to an abnormal size. In 

 one of the Club's trips, on the 24th May, 1894, Mr. J. Gabriel 

 found several specimens which differed slightly from Dr. Cooke's 

 description of Calocera digitata, but not sufficiently to form a new 

 species. 



It is impossible by word-painting to convey the beauty of some 

 of the patches of colour found on the banks of this stream. For 

 instance, an old charred trunk of a giant gum-tree as a back- 

 ground, at its foot a surface composed of mosses, lichens, and 

 Jungermanni, mixed with glistening white Agarics and yellow and 

 red Clavaria. On the trunk were borne several white and 

 coloured Polyporei, whilst in a deep cleft at the base a number 

 of the beautiful cream-coloured Craterellus glistened against the 

 burnt wood, the whole being surrounded by the bright green 

 fronds of various ferns, and surmounted by a canopy formed by 

 the branches of the Prostanthera, while far above stretched the 

 huge limbs of some giant eucalypts. 



In another place we noticed a very perfect specimen of what 

 is called in Europe a " fairy ring." This was caused by a number 

 of fungi growing in such a manner as to form a complete circle, 

 the diameter of which was about six feet. Inside the circle the 

 ground was quite bare, whilst outside it was covered with short 

 grass and ferns. 



Away from the stream the ground had been cultivated, but 

 had soon relapsed into a dense thicket of huge bracken. Where 

 still in cultivation it shows a rich chocolate soil, bearing volcanic 

 character. 



