NOTES ON HELOTIUM MARCHANTI^K. 273 



maj' have been produced by the mycelium of the 

 fungus rather than by independent decay of the tissue. 

 The fungus was not observed on a totally withered 

 or rotten thallus. 



The cups, which are well-described by Mr. Phillips,* 

 vary considerably in size and form, but average from 

 about ^ to I of a line in breadth, although shrinking 

 considerably when dry ; they are shortly stipitate or 

 sessile ; of an obconical shape, through the confluence 

 of the head with the thick stem ; of a pale yellowish- 

 brown colour, becoming darker when dry ; and are 

 mostly solitary, although sometimes produced in pairs 

 from the same base. 



As this fungus is very inconspicuous, and therefore 

 readily overlooked, its apparent rarity may be partly 

 due to a misunderstanding as to the period of its 

 development. It is generally believed to have been 

 found in May by Messrs. Berkeley and Jerdon, but I 

 have not been able to obtain specimens later than the 

 month of March, although I searched carefully for 

 them in April and May, and also throughout the 

 autumn. It is not improbable, therefore, that if a 

 careful search were made for this plant not later than 

 the third week of March, many new British stations 

 might be discovered for it, as the liverwort Cono- 

 cej)halus conicus, on which it grows, is common in most 

 districts. 



• Manual of the British Discomycetcs (1887), p. 16i. 



