1859.] CHAPTERS ON FUNGI. 295 



CHAPTEES ON FUNGI. 

 By Archibald Jerdon. 



CHAPTEE II. 



It may perliaps a])pear somewhat presumptuous to attempt to 

 initiate tlie readers of the ' Phytologist ' iu the study of the Fungi ; 

 but as I have good reason to believe that very little attention is 

 paid to these plants by the generality of botanists^ I venture to 

 give some explanations regarding their structure, in so far as 

 known to myself. 



Fungi exhibit such diversity, both iu outward form and inward 

 structure, that it would be impossible, in an article such as this, 

 to enumerate them all ; but I shall endeavour to indicate some of 

 the principal forms under which they appear in this country. 



I may here premise that Fungi, in common with other Cryp- 

 togamous plants, do not possess a vascular system, but consist 

 solely of cellular tissue (which often becomes filamentous), and 

 are, in fact, aggregations of minute cells, varying in shape and 

 density. No organs similar to the reproductive organs of phse- 

 nogamous plants have been observed in Fungi, except in a few 

 instances in which spermatozoids (or bodies analogous to these) 

 have been discovered ; but this subject is still involved in doubt 

 and obscurity. Bodies analogous to the reproductive buds of 

 some pheenogams, have however been observed in many Fungi, 

 and have been denominated conidia. 



The true seeds, or spores, of Fungi are produced on two diffe- 

 rent plans. They are either naked, and are then frequently borne 

 on sporophores, or they are enclosed in little sacs, or asci ; and 

 this difference forms the basis of the modern system of classifi- 

 cation. Some genera, as Erineum, etc., which were formerly 

 classed as Fungi, are now excluded, on account of their not pro- 

 ducing spores, and are considered as mere metamorphoses of ve- 

 getable tissue. 



Beginning with the more perfect Fungi, we find in the higher 

 tribes the following organization : — a pileus, or cap, bearing the 

 hymenium, or fructifying part of the plant, on its inferior surface, 

 and supported by a stipes, or stem, which is rooted in the ground 

 or fixed to the substance on which the Fungus grows. It may 

 here be remarked, that the roots of Fungi are generally small 



