230 CURREY——MYCOLOGICAL NOTES. 
Spheria Zobelii, Tul., ‘ Fungi Hyp.,’ p. 186, tab. xi, fig. 1. 
—The Rev. Henry H. Higgins, of Rainhill, near Prescot, 
lately forwarded to me a specimen of Peziza sepulta, calling 
my attention at the same time to a small parasitic fungus 
growing on its hymenium. Upon examining it, I found the 
parasite to be the above-mentioned Spheria, which forms a 
very interesting addition to the list of British fungi. Spheria 
Zobelii was first observed by Corda, growing in the flesh of 
the white truffle, Cheromyces meandriformis, Vittad., and he 
described it, in the fifth volume of the ‘ Icones Fungorum,’ 
under the name of Microthecium Zobelii. It has since been 
transferred to Spheria, there being obviously no sufficient 
grounds for creating a new genus for it. It was subsequently 
observed by Tulasne growing over the inner surface of 
Hydnocystis arenaria, a plant which was at one time supposed 
to be a Peziza, but which is now placed with the Tuberacei. 
Hydnocystis is, in fact, as has been remarked by Mr. 
Berkeley, a mouthless Peziza, forming a passage from that 
genus to the genus Tuber. 
Peziza sepulta belongs to a small group of Pezize which 
grow in sand or on loose earth, in which the cups are more or 
less buried, and which are hardly distinguishable from 
Hydnocystis. 
The occurrence of Spheria Zobelii upon the hymenium of 
the above Peziza might seem to indicate a further affinity 
between the latter plant and Hydnocystis, in addition to that 
derived from similarity (almost identity) of structure; but as 
the Spheria grows also upon Cheromyces, it 1s not impro- 
bable that any fungus of subterranean habit might afford 
an equally fitting nidus. 
In fig. 13 I have drawn the sporidia of the Spheria under 
a magnifying power of 325 diameters. The sporidia are bi- 
seriate, elliptical, shghtly drawn out and truncate at the 
extremities, very dark brown, margined, 0:001 inch long. 
Beautiful and elaborate figures of the plant and of its micro- 
scopical structure are contained in the ‘ Fungi Hypogei’ of 
M. Tulasne, tab. xiii. 
Iam informed by Mr. Higgins that Peziza sepulta with the 
Spheria occurred ‘abundantly on the sand-hills at Crosby, 
near Liverpool, in November, 1857, in low and moist places, 
about 300 yards from high-water mark. The Peziza was 
growing in company with Agaricus maritimus, a species not 
hitherto recorded as British. Mr. Higgins adds that, although 
Peziza sepulta was also abundant in 1858, he did not then 
see the Spheria. 
