A new fungus of the swamp cedar 



Howard J. Banker 

 (with plate 24) 



During the past year Mr. W. H. Ballou has discovered a new 

 and interesting fungus which appears to be very destructive to the 

 swamp cedar, Chamaecyparis thyoides (L.) B.S.P., of the New 

 Jersey coast. The fungus is parasitic on the cedar and as yet 

 appears to be confined to that species. Its destructive effects on 

 the forest are described and well illustrated in an article in the 

 Scientific American for December 19, 1908. 



Mr. Ballou's observations of the work of this fungus have 

 been confined to the region about Forked River, Ocean County, 

 New Jersey, where it seems to have fully established its work of 

 destruction. It is desirable that observations be made as soon as 

 possible throughout the range of this cedar that the origin and 

 progress of the disease may be determined. The plant is likely 

 to escape notice without diligent search. The sporophores are 

 borne high on the tree close to or in the canopy, and from their 

 position, size, coloring, and their tendency to fall away from the 

 deadened wood, they are not readily detected. 



•I take pleasure in dedicating the species to the discoverer whose 

 persistent work on the swamp cedar has led to the detection of 

 this destructive fungus. 



Steccherinum Ballouii sp. nov. 



Plant parasitic, perennial, pileate ; pileus campanulate to sub- 

 dimidiate, more or less imbricate, sessile, decurrent on a vertical 

 substratum to pendent from a horizontal substratum, easily sep- 

 arable, 1-4 cm. long, 1-5 cm. wide, often confluent laterally to 10 

 cm.; surface sulcate-zonate, radiately subrugose, somewhat scro- 

 biculate, sometimes velutinous on younger and more protected 

 parts, often licheniferous on the older parts, dark olive-brown 

 when fresh, drying to gray-brown on older parts, becoming light 

 seal-brown on younger portions toward margin ; margin obtuse^ 



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