THE SPORE-SAC FUNGI 515 



dense clusters ; a beautiful lemon-yellow, the head being plane or concave, with a 

 short, thick, paler stem, forming - an inverted cone. Asci elongated, narrowly 

 cylindrical, attenuated at the base into a long, slender, crooked pedicel, 8-spored. 



Sporidia oblong, elliptical, with two or three minute nuclei. 



This is quite a common plant in our woods during wet weather or in damp 

 places, growing upon old logs and stumps, in woods, in the fall. Figure 439 will 

 give an idea of their appearance when in dense clusters. The plants photographed 

 by Dr. Kellerman. 



Helotium lutesccns. Fr. 

 Yellowish Helotium. 



Lutescens means yellowish. The plants are small, sessile, or attached by a 

 very short stem; closed at first, then expanding until nearly plane; disk yellow, 

 smooth ; asci clavate, 8 spored ; spores hyaline, smooth. 



Gregarious or scattered. Found on half-decayed branches. 



Helotium oeruginosum. Fr. 

 The Green Helotium. 



^ruginosum means verdigris-green. Gregarious or scattered, staining the 

 wood on which they grow to a deep verdigris-green ; ascophore at first turbinate 

 and closed, then expanding, the margin usually wavy and more or less irregular ; 

 flexible, glabrous, even, somewhat contracted, and minutely wrinkled when dry ; 

 every part a deep verdigris-green, the disc often becoming paler with a tinge of 

 tan color; 1-4 mm. across; stem 1-3 mm. long, expanding into the ascophore; 

 hypothecium and excipulum formed of interlaced, hyaline hyphaef 3-4/*. thick, 

 these becoming stouter and colored green in the cortex ; asci narrowly cylindric- 

 clavate, apex slightly narrowed, 8-spored ; spores irregularly 2-seriate, hyaline or 

 with a slight tinge of green, very narrowly cylindric-fusiform, straight or curved, 

 10-14x2.5-3.5^. 2-gutullate, or with several minute green oil globules; paraphyses 

 slender, with a tinge of green at the tip. Masscc. 



Massee calls this Chlorosplenium seruginosum, De Not. It is quite common 

 on oak branches, staining to a deep green the wood upon which it grows. It is 

 widely distributed, specimens having been sent me from as far east as Massa- 

 chusetts. The mycelium-stains in the wood are met more frequently than 

 me fruit. 



