1915] 



BURT — THELEPHORACEAE OP NORTH AMERICA. V 757 



Thelephora Helvelloides Schweinitz, Naturforsch. Ges. 

 Leipzig Schrif t. 1 : 108. 1822 ; Am. Phil. Soc. Trans. N. S. 4 : 

 168. 1834; Fries, Elenchus Fung. 1:193. 1828; Epicr. 541. 

 1836-1838. — Corticium Helvelloides Massee, Linn. Soc. Bot. 

 Jour. 27 : 153. 1891. — Corticium basale Peck, N. Y. State Mus. 

 Kept. 43:69 (23). 1890. 



Type : in Herb. Schw. and portions in Curtis Herb, and in 

 Kew Herb. 



Fructification coriaceous, spongy, effused, convex, closely 

 adnate and incrusting, on ground in mosses and on bark at 

 bases of living trees, at first whitish, drying honey-color to 

 warm buff; structure in section, with (1) a very thick spongy 

 layer next the substratum, of loosely interwoven, branched, 

 rather rigid, even-walled, brownish hyphae, 3-3£ p in 

 diameter, which bear (2) a fertile layer 200-300 n thick made 

 up of great numbers of erect, straight, cylindric paraphyses 

 2 n in diameter, between which occur the basidia at about 

 40-50 /x below the surface; basidia longitudinally septate, 

 pyrif orm, 20-25 X 15 /* ; spores colorless, simple, flattened or 

 slightly curved on one side, 12-13 X 6 /*. 



Fructifications 3-15 cm. long and wide, drying about £-2 

 mm. thick to 9 mm. thick in type which covers a cushion of 

 moss plants. 



On ground and bark at bases of living trees. New York to 

 North Carolina. July and August. 



Specimens of this species have somewhat the habit of thick 

 specimens of Coniophora puteana but are of very different 

 structure. The abundant, erect, unbranched, cylindric para- 

 physes often 200 n long which compose the greater part of 

 the hymenium, and the large basidia are reliable characters 

 for identifying Sebacina Helvelloides when sections are 

 studied; the coarser and colored hyphae of the species give 

 an additional character separating it from S. incrustans when 

 the latter occurs strictly resupinate. 



The type specimen is abnormal in thickness and ridged 

 surface by running over and incrusting a bed of moss. The 

 hanging: rootlets referred to in the original description are 



