W. C. Sturgis — Type- Specimens of Myxomycetes. 481 



hart's N. A. Fungi, No. 2088, identifies it with Rostafinski's type of 

 S. splendens from Cuba. Under that species he also- places S. Bauer- 

 linii^ Mass. and its ya,v. fenestrata, Rex; S. Webber i, Rex; and S. con- 

 flaens, Cke. & Ell. Macbride disregards, as species, S. splendens, 

 Rost. and S. Sauerllnii, Mass., but gives specific rank to Rex's 

 variety of the latter, and restoi'es aS'. Morgani, Pk., S. Webberi, Rex 

 and S. confluens, C. & E., as autonomous species. He thus deprives 

 S. splendens, Rost. of all its varieties, but fails to indicate what dis- 

 position we are to make of that species itself. In view of this 

 extreme divergence of opinion on the part of two authors, it is inter- 

 esting to note the view of this matter entertained hy a third 

 authority. 



In December, 1892, I received from Dr. Rex a series of six speci- 

 mens representing various intergrading forms of essentially one type, 

 and all referred to S. splendens, Rost. They include the following 

 names : S. Bauerlinii, Mass. ("according to the type sent by 

 Massee"); S. Bauerlinii, Mass., var. fenestrata. Rex; S. Morgani, 

 Pk. ; and aS'. Morgani, Pk., y^s. fenestrata. Rex. In the letter refer- 

 ring to these specimens, Dr. Rex says: "They illustrate a series 

 which must, I believe, all be taken into Stemonitis splendens, Rost. 

 They represent a series (I have still other links) Avhich include, I 

 think, 8. Bauerlinii, Mass. and S. Morgani, Pk. I shall also have 

 to include my own species S. Webberi^ This is precisely the posi- 

 tion taken by Lister, and taking it for granted that the distributed 

 specimens of !S. Morgani, Pk., are actually that species. Lister's 

 opinion seems to me to be in accordance with the facts. 



Stemonitis herbatica, Pk., Rep. XXVI, p. 75, 1873, and Rep. 

 XXXI, p. 58, 1878. Like S. Morga)ri,Vk.,ih.\^ species is an illustra- 

 tion of the extreme difficulties attending the effort to draw 

 sharp lines of distinction between the so-called species of this 

 perplexing genus. We may, with almost equal propriety, select 

 certain " centres " and group around them extensive series of 

 intergrading forms, or select the terminal extremes of such 

 series and regai'd them as more or less fixed species. The 

 difficulty of adopting either method exclusively lies in the fact 

 that two observers examining the same specimen may yet disa- 

 gree as to its apparent!}'' essential features. Thus, in the case 

 before us, both Mr. Lister and Professor Macbride have examined 

 the type of S. herbatica, Pk., yet the former describes the spores as 

 "purplish" (not ferruginous), as in S. splendens, Rost., while the 

 latter describes the spore-mass as "ferruginous," as in 8, ferrxiginea. 



