122 Transactions British Mycological Society. 



In " Untersuchungen zur vergleichenden Entwicklungs- 

 geschichte und Systematik der Phalloideen" (1890), Fischer 

 retained this species in the genus Coins. He had examined a 

 specimen from Berkeley in Herb. Mus. d'Hist. Nat., Paris, 

 but was unable to determine the nature of the dorsal line of 

 the arm and the apex. Fischer stated that Coins Gardneri is, 

 as it were, Coins hirudinosns in which the stalk has lengthened 

 and the apical meshes disappeared, or an Anthurus with its 

 arms united at the tip; it differed from Lysurus in that in the 

 latter the stem structure was not continued into the arms; 

 in C. Gardneri, as in Anthurus and the other species of Colus, 

 the stalk expands gradually to the receptaculum, whereas in 

 Lysurus it is constricted above as in Simblum sphaerocephalum. 



In "Neue Untersuchungen" (1893) Fischer wrote "In 

 Berkeley's and the Kew Herbarium there are numerous 

 examples of this fungus, all from Ceylon. I was able to deter- 

 mine with certainty on some of them that the arms are actually 

 united at the apex, though the junction is extraordinarily thin. 

 But the possibility is not excluded that examples may occur 

 in which the arms are free. Further, it is characteristic of 

 this species that the lowest part of the arm is free from spores, 

 and, correspondingly, is not transversely wrinkled." 



In "Untersuchungen zur vergleichenden Entwicklungs- 

 geschichte," etc. (1900), Fischer notices Massee's statement in 

 Grevillea and refers his readers to his views expressed in 1893. 



In 1907, C. G. Lloyd published "The Phalloids of Austra- 

 lasia," and gave copies of the figures of Lysurus atistraliensis 

 and Mutinus pentagonus, which, in general appearance, closely 

 resemble Coins Gardneri. Lloyd expressed his opinion of the 

 latter in the following terms. "The early stages of Lysurus 

 with the arms connivent have led to some very misleading 

 pictures. Thus, Berkeley's original picture of Lysurus Gardneri 

 so misled Professor Fischer that he transferred it to another 

 genus, but after he visited Kew and saw that it misrepresented 

 the plant he should have transferred it back. Our American 

 species Lysurus borealis was named Anthurus horealis, but in 

 my opinion is a Lysurus, and I think the same as the Ceylon 

 species. It was originally illustrated with a drawing subject 

 to the same criticism as the original dra\\dng of Lysurus 

 Gardneri" (p. 12). "Lysurus Gardneri of Ceylon, which was so 

 named and described by Berkeley, is a true Lysurus with 

 spreading arms, and not a Colus, as found in Fischer's latest 

 work. Fischer referred it to the genus Colus on the strength 

 of Berkeley's figure, and he was justified, if one is ever justified 

 in changing classification on the evidence of a figure. When 

 Professor Fischer came to Kew, however, and saw the specimens, 



