354 Transactions British Mycological Society. 



The ascospores are very large and do not seem to be readily 

 discharged from the ascus, although they have been under simi- 

 lar cultural conditions to Peziza aurantia, CudonieUa acicularis 

 and Dasyscypha virginea, all of which we have frequently seen 

 "puff" off their ascospores, yet we have never obser\^ed "puff- 

 ing" in Pezicula eucrita. 



We have also tried the effect of various chemical substances, 

 solutions of silver nitrate, acetic acid, sulphuric acid, copper 

 sulphate, alcohol, iodine, mercuric chloride, potassimn nitrate, 

 and sodium chloride (such as were used by Buller (4) in his ex- 

 periments on Peziza repanda) on ripe asci hing in water, and 

 found that none of them had the slightest effect in bringing 

 about the discharge of ascospores, whereas ripe asci of Dasy- 

 scypha Soppittii, similarlv treated, burst at once, discharging 

 their ascospores. Xo doubt the profuse formation of conidia 

 from ascospores which have germinated in the ascus, or from 

 those hing on the surface of the apothecium may be correlated 

 ^nth the ineffective explosive mechanism of the asci. 



WTien the ascospores of Pezicula eucrita were germinated in 

 water in hanging-drop culture-chambers, the growth and pro- 

 fuse formation of conidia were similar to that seen under natural 

 conditions; conidia treated similarlv germinated and produced 

 a small germ-tube, or the}' budded off conidia again. 



Conidia were present in every apothecium examined, even in 

 quite young specimens, but were more numerous in the more 

 mature stages of growi:h. 



In both young and old apothecia paraphyses were found. 

 Some were long, slender and unbranched, whilst others were 

 dichotomously branched and clavate, and similar to those 

 figured by Boudier (3). Although the paraphyses are dichoto- 

 mously branched they never presented the rigid dichotomy seen 

 in those figured by Rehm (21, neither is there the abrupt transi- 

 tion from slender filament to clavate head. 



The excipulum is parenchMnatous and covered vdth. short 

 hairs. In all descriptions of this fungus no mention is made of 

 the excipulum which is usually an important feature to note 

 when identifying a discomycetous fungus. 



REFERENCES. 



(i) Trans. Brit. Mj-c. Soc. 1912, Vol. iv, p. 198. 



(2) Rehm in Rabenhorst's Kr3^togamen Fl. i, 3, p. 255. 



(3) E. Boudier. — Icones Mycologicae, PI. 559, p. 330. 



(4) A. H. R. Buller. — Researches on Fungi, p. 23S. 



