SCLKROTINIA BACCARUM. BEHM, AND ITS ALLIES. 151 



were attached to sclerotia in mummied berries of I^ Myrtillus, 

 and grew amongst a deposit of fallen leaves of that shrub, on a 

 little rocky ledge beside one of the tributaries of the Glazert Water. 

 Examples of the sclerotia and fungi were carefully preserved, 

 and have been deposited in the British Herbarium at the Natural 

 History Museum at South Kensington. 



The life history of several species of Sclerotima presents 

 features of considerable interest. In the more highly-developed 

 forms, a conidial or '• white-mould " stage has been traced, which 

 closely corresponds to Botrytis, Oidium, Monilia, or other allied 

 genera of Mucedineae among the Hyphomycetes. After a period 

 of activity, the mycelium forms those densely compacted masses 

 known as ''sclerotia,"' which are characteristic of the genus 

 under notice. These were formerly regarded, and have been 

 described, as independent fungi, and several of them (especially 

 Sclerotium durum, Pers.) are very common on dead herb-stems or 

 amongst decaying vegetable matter. They are generally black or 

 dark-brown externally, white internally, and of a hard or horny 

 substance. In this resting condition, the mycelium is able to 

 withstand severe frost and other atmospheric conditions which 

 might otherwise prove destructive to it. After a period of 

 quiescence, one or more ascophores are produced from the 

 sclerotium. In some species, however the ascigerous condition, 

 and in others the conidial state, are as yet the sole forms which 

 have been recognised. 



The following is a list of the species which have been recorded 

 for Britain, and are described by Mr. Massee in his two works 

 already mentioned. Those which have been ascertained to occur 

 within the Clyde Area are denoted by an asterisk. 



I. Conidial and ascigerous forms known. 

 *S. haecarum, Rehm. — See preceding remarks. 

 S. bulhorum. Rehm. — Couidia of the type of Botrytis. Ascophores 



spring from an irregular sclerotium on bulbs of Hyacinthus, 



Scilla, Crocus, and Allium. 

 S. DuricBana (Tul.) Quel. — Conidia = Epidochium arabicus, Desm.; 



Sphacelia ambiens, Sacc. Ascophores grow from a small 



black elongated sclerotium in culms of Carex arenaria and 



C. stricta. 



