CURREY, ON REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF FUNGI. 197 



extinguished until more has been effected than has yet been 

 done towards tracing the different species to their perfect 

 ascigerous condition. Inasmuch as Asterosporium and Myrio- 

 cephalum have both been placed, the one by Montagne and 

 the other by Persoon, in the genus Stilbospora, the best 

 course, now that they prove to be the same, will be to retain 

 them in that genus with an appropriate specific name. For 

 the latter I should propose the term ^^ viilitaris,'' since both 

 kinds of fruit resemble instruments of warfare — the stellate 

 spores being similar to crowsfeet, and the fasciculate spores 

 being something like grape-shot. In case any of my readers 

 may not be familiar with the former instruments, I may state 

 that croiosfeet consist of a spherical piece of iron with four 

 spikes concentric with the sphere, and radiating from it in 

 different planes. They were formerly used by throwing 

 them in numbers on the ground, with the view of laming the 

 enemy's horses. 



Steganosporium ceilulosum, — This plant has not yet 

 been recorded amongst the British Fungi, although I can 

 hardly believe that it has not been observed. The genus was 

 separated by Corda from Stilbospora on the ground of the 

 more compound nature of the spore. He distinguishes two 

 species, Stegavosporhim pyriforme and S. ccUulomim ; there 

 does not, however, seem to be any substantial difference 

 between the two, for the existence or non-existence of longi- 

 tudinal septa in the spores is clearly unimportant, inasmuch 

 as spores are to be found in the same specimens some with 

 and some without such septa. The difference in the nature 

 of the perithecium is also, I think, insufficient to justify the 

 separation of the two species, even if such difference be not 

 (as I suspect it is) dependent merely upon accidental circum- 

 stances of growth. It would probably, therefore, have been 

 better to follow Fries, and to have united the two species 

 under the common name oi Stilbospora cellulosa ; but the follow- 

 ing observations will, I venture to think, be considered suffi- 

 cient to show that Steganosporium ceilulosum and S. pyriforme 

 are only forms of fruit of a Splifsria allied to, if not identical 

 with, aS'. amblyospora. 



In July, 1855, I found a dead branch of a Sycamore in my 

 garden at Blackheath covered with Steganosjwrium ceilulosum. 

 With the view of ascertaining whether any other fungus lay 

 dormant in its vicinity, I placed some pieces of the branch in 

 a green glass bottle with some damp moss, corked the bottle 

 tight, and exposed it to the full mid-day sun. In a few days 

 the ostiola of a Sphf^ria appeared on one of the pieces of 



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