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assumed by the mucidinw, and was himself so enraptured with them that he 
writes :—‘‘ These forms are so different from all other plants of a superior order 
that they appear to me as a benefaction from the Almighty to compensate the 
naturalist for the pain of being placed on the arid soil of Europe, deprived of the 
rich vegetation of the tropics.” The fascination these studies exercised over the 
mind of this celebrated German was shared in by many of our own countrymen, 
one of the results of which was the addition, during the 22 years between the 
publication of ‘English Flora” and Berkeley’s ‘‘ Outlines of Fungology ” in 
1860, of no less than 1101 species to the British list. Eleven years later Cooke’s 
**Hand-book of British Fungi” came froth the press, which gave an addition 
of 249 species, making a total of 2809 species. 
I need not say that the mere addition of new species to the British list is 
not the highest aim of a Mycologist, but you will concur with me when I say that 
every addition is of interest in a country of limited area such as ours; it has 
occurred to me therefore that a brief description, accompanied with drawings,* of 
three species new to this country may not be unacceptable on this occasion. 
Peziza brunneola, Desm, is a minute species found growing on decaying leaves 
of the Oak and Spanish Chestnut not more than 3 of an inch high, and very 
similar in colour to the leaf on which it is fond. The cup is supported on a 
short stem, giving the appearance of a microscopic acorn cup from which the acorn 
has fallen. It is coated outside with brown hairs, which towards the margin form 
afringe. These hairs under the microscope appear to be hollow, divided within 
at certain intervals by partitions or septa: the summit is enlarged into a kind of 
knob on which is seated a mass of minute granules, the exact function of which 
has never been determined. Within the cup is the hymenium, consisting of a 
dense bed of asci and paraphyses. The peculiarity to which I wish specially to 
call your attention is the shape of these paraphyses, a character much more com- 
mon than is generally supposed in the section Dasyseyphce to which it belongs, and 
first observe, if I mistake not, by M. Desmaziére. These paraphyses, unlike 
those usually found in Discomycetes are nearly as broad as the asci, and twice the 
length, tapering upwards into a spear-like point, so that if the hymenium be 
viewed by a tolerably high magnifying power it is seen to be villose from these 
projecting paraphyses. This may hereafter form an excellent character for the 
grouping of these minute species. 
Desmazierella acicola, Libt. is a Peziza-like plant found growing on the dead 
leaves of Scotch Pine (Pinus sylvestris). It was first described by a French lady, 
adame Libert, in the “‘ Annales des Sciences Naturelles,” 1829, accompanied by 
an excellent figure. Finding it differ from every other known species of Peziza, 
she created a new genus for it, named after her celebrated countryman, M. 
Desmaziére. This plant first appears on the pine leaves as a small ball of black 
entangled hairs, not larger than a pin’s head, lying close to the surface of the leaf. 
After a time it opens at the top and gradually expands into a saucer-like form, 
* The drawings appeared in ‘‘ Grevillea,” vol. iii., pl. 42. 
