202 



FLOBA OF NEW ZEALAND. 



[Fungi. 



Gen. LIX. EXCIPULA, Fries. 



Perithecia carbonacea, sphaerica, libera, primo clausa, dein aperta ; ore orbicularis integro ; nucleo nudo, 

 gelatinoso, turgido. Asci perfecti. 



Very near to Pkacidium, but distinguished by its regular, not laciniate orifice. I consider the genus as com- 

 prising only species with perfect asci. No tropical form is known. (Name from excipula, a receptacle.) 



1. Excipula nigro-rufa, Berk.; minuta, subglobosa, ore inflexo, extus nigra, intus rufa, ascis amplis, 

 sporidiis hyalinis obovato-oblongis obliquis subquadriseptatis. (Tab. CVI. Kg. 11.) 



Hab. On the under side of leaves of Pittosporum crassifolium, near the River Te Waiohingaanga, 

 Hawke's Bay, Colenso. 



Having much the appearance of a large Erysiphe buried in the pubescence of the leaf. Cups subglobose, exter- 

 nally black, margin reflexed. Hymenium rufous. Asci clavate, obtuse. Sporidia hyaline, obovate-oblong, obtuse, 

 subcymbiform, with about four transverse septa, and occasionally an oblique one in the upper division. — Plate CVI. 

 Fig. 7. a. Asci of Excipula nigro-rufa, Berk., with sporidia, magnified, b. Sporidia, magnified 250 diameters, 

 c. Sporidia, more highly magnified. 



* Excipula gregaria, Berk. ; minuta, extus nigra, macula? fuscse inspersa, hymenio pallido, ascis am- 

 plis clavatis, sporidiis obovato-oblongis, endochromate demum bipartito. 



Hab. On the upper side of the living leaves of some QnaphaUwm, Colenso. 



Crowded upon a brownish spot, often following the direction of the main nerves, minute ; cups black exter- 

 nally; disc pale. Asci clavate, rather thick. Sporidia obovate-oblong, -^jVo 0I " an mcn l° n S- Endochrome at 

 length obscurely bipartite. 



Gen. LX. CORDYCEPS, Fries. 



Stroma elevatum, carnosum, ssepius stipitatum, leetius coloratum. Perithecia peripherica, tenera. 

 Sporidia longissima ; endochromata plurima, ut plurimum dissilientia. 



One of the most interesting genera of Fungi, most of whose species grow from caterpillars or pupae, which, it is 

 probable, are often destroyed by the mycelium ; and a few minute species are the perfect development of the different 

 kinds of ergot. Several species occur in the warmer parts of North America, and they are not wanting in the tropics. 

 (Name from KopSvXrj, a club) 



1. Cordyceps Robertsii, Hook. le. Sphseria Hiigelii, Corda, Ic.fasc. 4. 



Hab. On larvae of Hepialus virescens ; mostly under tree-ferns, in spring. Common. 



One of the most remarkable of the Entomogenous Fungi, which exists in almost every collection of singular 

 natural productions. The species is admirably figured by Corda, in almost all its details. As in most allied species, 

 the perithecia vary greatly as to the degree in which they are immersed. Some general information on the Fungus 

 will be found in Hook. Lond. Journ. vol. ii. p. 209, where several other insect Sphcerim are described. 



Gen. LXI. HYPOCREA, Fries. 



Stroma horizontal, carnosum vel subgelatinosura, ut plurimum hetius coloratum. Perithecia tenera ; 

 sporidia indefinita. 



The fleshy or gelatinous substance, the brighter colour (which however varies to olive and dark green), and 

 indefinite sporidia, are the distinctive marks of this genus, which cannot be confounded with Hypoxylon. Little is 

 at present known of extra-European species, with the exception of a few from North America, and a very fine one 

 which occurs in Sikkim and Java. (Name from viro, beneath, and Kpea<;,fiesl/.) 



1. Hypocrea gelatinosa, Pries. Sphaeria gelatinosa, Tode. 



Hab. On decorticated wood, Colenso. 



