104 Transactions British Mycological Society. 



NOTES ON SOME SAPROPHYTIC SPECIES 



OF FUNGI, ASSOCIATED WITH DISEASED 



POTATO PLANTS AND TUBERS. 



With Plates III and IV. 



By G. H. Pethybridge, B.Sc, Ph.D. 



During the progress of a series of investigations* on various 

 diseases of the potato plant in Ireland, which have extended 

 over several years, special attention was naturally devoted to 

 the part played by parasitic fungi. In the course of the work, 

 however, a number of saprophytic species associated with the 

 parasites were met with, some of which were previously unde- 

 scribed or imperfectly known ; and a certain amount of attention 

 was devoted to them. 



It is proposed, in the following notes, to deal briefly with a 

 few of these saprophytes ; and the observations and descriptions 

 which follow are based, to a large extent, on the characters and 

 behaviour of the various species, when grown in pure culture, a 

 single conidium or spore having been made the starting-point 

 of the culture in each case. The study of micro-fungi in pure 

 cultures offers many advantages, and had this method been 

 available to and employed by earlier workers in mycology, 

 many mistakes would have been avoided. It is clear, for 

 reasons which need not be discussed here, that whenever possible 

 this method should be adopted by workers in future. 



I. NECTRIA INVENTA. 



(Syn. Verticillium cinnabarinum Reinke et Berth.) 



The more or less ubiquitous fungus Acrostalagmus cinna- 

 barinus Cordaf was, in 1879, re-named Verticillium cinna- 

 barinum by Reinke and Bertholdt, who pointed out that 

 Corda's generic name was founded upon an error of observation 

 as to the manner in which conidia were produced. Neverthe- 

 less both Saccardo§ andLindau|| retain Corda's original name. 



* Reports on these investigations will be found in the Journal of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland, x.-xviii. 1910-1918. 

 ■)■ Icon. Fung. ii. p. 15, 1838. 

 X Zersetz. d. Kartoff. p. 63, 1879. 

 § Syll. iv. p. 163, 1886. 

 I] Rabenh. Krypt. Fl. i. 8, p. 339, 1904. 



