310 Seaver : Color variation in some fungi 



ficult to find asci and spores, all of which are indications of the 

 age of the specimens at the time of collection. The brown stylo- 

 spores mentioned in the description were not seen and even though 

 present, as suggested above, there is no evidence that they form a 

 part of the life-history of the plant with which they are found. The 

 specimen has every appearance of being a discolored specimen of 

 Nectria purpurea (L.) W. & S. 



Nectria Meliae Earle (Bull. Torrey Club 25: 364) is said in 

 the original description to be distinguished from Nectria purpurea 

 (L.) W. & S. by the darker color of the perithecia and a slight 

 variation in size. Examination of specimens of this species in the 

 herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden shows no grounds 

 for its separation. 



No species deserves more careful study than the one now under 

 consideration for the reasons that it is common and widely dis- 



every 



a 



persistent form, shows much variation in color as well as in other 



hich 



A large 



the 



number of the closely related so-called species which have been 

 described are distinguished primarily on color and if every shade 

 of color be accepted as a valid specific character we might have an 

 infinite number of " printer's ink " species created from the one 

 form as set apart by nature. 



Another case of color variation has been noted in Hypocrca 

 gelatinosa (Tode) Fries (Fung. Meckl. Sel. 2 : 46. /. 123, 124). 

 Specimens of this species collected by the writer show the very 

 young plants to be of a bright lemon-yellow color, but as 

 spores mature they become olive-green, giving to the stroma a 

 mottled appearance. The whole stroma then becomes darker 

 until it assumes a dirty green, finally becoming nearly black with 



. In fresh specimens all of these variations have been seen on 

 the same substratum and the relation can be traced from one to 

 the other. 



Hypocrea chlorospora B. & C. (Grevillea 4 : 14) is characterized 

 as being distinguished from the above by the black stroma, the 

 color of the spores being the same in both species. While no 

 authentic specimen of this species could be secured, it seems very 

 doubtful if it is distinct from Hypocrea gelatinosa (Tode) Fries. 



