92 NATUKAL HISTORY BULLETIN 



stratum green; asci elavate, 8-spored; spores ovoid to fusoid, 

 simple, hyaline. 



Three species of the genus not uncommon in Iowa. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 



Plants entirely sessile, bright to olivaceous. . . C. clilora. 



Plants stipitate or substipitate, seruginous or oliva- 

 ceous-green. 



Plants bright seruginous-green C ceruginosum. 



Plants dull olivaceous-green C. versiforme. 



Chlorospenium chlora (Schw.) Massee, Jour. Linn. Soc. 35: 

 116. 1901. 



Plate 23, f . iii. 



Peziza chlora Schw., Schr. Nat. Ges. Leipzig. 1 : 122. 1818. 

 Chlorosplenium schweinitzii Fries, Summa Veg. Scand. 856. 



1849. 

 Peziza crocitincta Berk. & Curtis; Berkeley, Grevillea 3: 160. 



1875. 



Plants thickly gregarious, soft, rather fleshy, at first closed and 

 globose in form, then expanded but remaining concave with the 

 margin incurved, bright yellow externally or often more or 

 less faded; hymenium becoming greenish; cups appearing rough 

 on the exterior but not hairy, 1 to 2 mm. in diameter; asci stipi- 

 tate, 8-spored; spores 1-seriate, hyaline, simple, straight or 

 curved, 5 to 6 by 1.5/i,; paraphyses slender, slightly enlarged at 

 their apices. 



On old stumps especially oak, Iowa City and Mt. Pleasant, 

 common. 



Although this species is the type of the genus Chlorosplenium 

 as founded by Fries the general appearance of the plants would 

 scarcely suggest that genus as it is understood at the present 

 time. The plants are usually very bright yellow, often orange- 

 yellow with perhaps a slight tinge of green displayed especially 

 by the hymenium. The species differs from the other members 

 of the genus described here not only in color but in the entire 

 absence of stem. 



This species which has been collected often by the writer has 



