172 Transactions British Mycological Society. 



Mushrooms, p. 201, fig. 202; Badham, Esc. Fung. tab. 16, 

 fig. 2 (C. coralloides) ; Barla, Champ. Nice, tab. 40, figs. 1-3 ; 

 Bres., Fung. Mang. tab. loi; Fries, Sverig. Atl. Svamp. 

 tab. 35; Gillet, Champ. Fr. tab. 507; Holmsk., Fung. Dan. i. 

 1799, tab. 32, fig. 6; Krombh., Abbild. u. Beschreib. tab. 53, 

 figs. 1-3 ; Paulet, loc. cit. ; Schaeff., loc. cit. ; Migula in Thome, 

 Flora von Deutschl. iii. 2, i, tab. 24D, figs. 2, 3 (but spores 

 not correct) ; Vittadini, Fung. Mang. tab. 29, fig. i ; Weber- 

 bauer, Pilze, tab. 10, fig. i. 



Plants large, 10-12 cm. across and 7-12 cm. high, forming 

 fleshy rounded masses, with a short stout base, densely branched 

 above, white to buff, the tips of the branches reddish; smell 

 slight, pleasant, taste pleasant. Stem short, stout, white 

 tapering below. Branching irregular, primary branches few 

 and stout (2-3 cm.), ultimate branches slender (2-3 mm.), more 

 or less dichotomous; branches cylindrical, somewhat erect, 

 smooth, pruinose, apices pointed or toothed. Flesh solid, 

 white. Internal structure of parallel septate hyphae, cells 

 100-150 X io/.t in the centre, smaller towards the margin, 

 scarcely parenchymatous in transverse section. Basidia long, 

 conspicuous, 60-70 x 8-10^, contents very granular; sterig- 

 mata 2-4. Spores dull ochraceous in the mass, copious, 

 obliquely elliptical, apiculate, smooth, but with fine longi- 

 tudinal or oblique striations often anastomosing to form a 

 network, 12-16 x 4-5 /x. 



Habitat. On the ground amongst leaves in woods. Very 

 rare. Specimens from Haslcmere (E. W. Swanton, 1905, 1906, 

 1913) ; Byfleet (Lady Davy, 1912) ; Effingham, under beech 

 and holly (A. D. C, 1913) ; Lyndhurst (A. D. C, 1916). 



As remarked by Persoon, the habit of this species is very 

 variable. The typical form is white or pale, and has short, 

 densely crowded, rose-tipped branches, forming a compact 

 rounded mass. With age it becomes more yellowish in colour, 

 and under certain conditions the branches may become much 

 elongated, as figured by Barla, tab. cit. fig. 3, and Vittadini. 

 It would seem that such elongated specimens have been some- 

 times referred to C . formosa , whence has arisen the idea amongst 

 some recent writers that C. formosa has red-tipped branches. 



Even when old, however, C. hotrytis may always be recognised 

 by its characteristic, striate spores, as was noted by us and 

 pointed out by Maire (loc. cit.). Maire suggests that C. Rielii 

 Bond. (Bull. Soc. Myc. Fr. xiii. 1897, p. 14) and C. sculpta Beck 

 (Verh. k. zool.-bot. Ges. Wien, 39, 1889, p. 603) may have 

 been old specimens of C. hotrytis from which the branches had 

 been for the most part broken off. The fact that the striations 

 of the spore wall are not mentioned by these authors may merely 



