THE STEMONITIS 



579 



D. cinereum. Fr. 



Sporangia sessile, round, whitish, covered with an ashy-gray scurf. Spores 

 black. Very small. On fallen oak leaves. Easily overlooked. 



Xylaria. Schrank. 



Xylaria means pertain- 

 ing to wood. It is usu- 

 ally vertical, more or less 

 stipitate. The stroma is 

 between fleshy and 

 corky, covered with a 

 black or rufous bark. 



Xylaria polymorpha. 

 Grev. 



Polymorpha means 

 many forms. It is nearly 

 fleshy, a number usually 

 growing together, or 

 gregarious ; thickened as 

 if swollen, irregular ; 

 dirty-white, then black; 

 the receptacle bearing 

 perithecia in every part. 



This plant is quite 

 common in our woods, 

 growing about old 

 stumps or on decayed 

 sticks or pieces of wood. 

 The spore-openings can 

 be seen with an ordinary 

 hand-glass. 



Figure 496. Xylaria polymorpha var. spathularia. Natural size. 



Xylaria polymorpha, var. spathularia. 



Spathularia means in the form of a spathula or spatula. It is vertical and 

 stipitate, the stem being more definite than in the X. polymorpha, the stroma being 



