ASCOBOLUS. 161 



then olive, somewhat pellucid, becoming blackish olive when 

 old and dry, -| 1 mm. across, excipulum parenchymatous, 

 cortical cells, polygonal, large ; asci clavate, narrowed below 

 into a slender pedicel, 8-spored; spores at first almost 

 1-seriate, then irregularly 2-seriate, rather narrowly elliptical, 

 violet then violet-brown or altogether brown, epi spore with 

 irregularly anastomosing wrinkles, 16-18 x 7-8 //,; para- 

 phj-ses septate, becoming slightly and gradually thickened 

 upwards, hyaline, involved in pale yellow-green mucus. 



On horse and cow dung. 



Specimens in Rab.-Klotzsch, Herb. Myc., n. 107, examined. 



Ascobolus marginatus. Mass. Grev., vol. xxi. p. 100. 



Ascophore sessile, at first almost globose, then becoming 

 narrowed at the base, apex truncate, disc at length quite 

 plane, bounded by a slightly raised, blunt margin, soft and 

 pellucid, almost hyaline or with a slight tinge of olive, quite 

 glabrous ; |-1 mm. across ; excipulum parenchymatous, cells 

 almost regularly hexagonal, 10-16 p. diameter; asci clavate, 

 apex slightly narrowed, pedicel short, slendei-, 8-spored, 

 slightly projecting above the surface of the disc at maturity, 

 spores irregularly 2-seriate, elliptical, ends rather acute, 

 continuous, epispore persistently smooth, pale rosy-violet, 

 then purple-brown, 1516 x 67 p.; paraphyses hyaline, 

 septate, about 2 //, thick, apex not thickened ; hypotheciuin 

 minutely parenchymatous. 



On dung of ass. 



Distinguished by the small size of the spores and by the 

 epispore remaining perfectly smooth, and without marks or 

 lines at maturity. 



* Externally scurfy or granulated. 



Ascobolus furfuraceus. Pers., Tent. Meth., p. 25; 

 Phil., Brit. Disc., p. 290 ; Sacc., Syll., n. 2143. 



Ascophore 1-4 mm. across, globose then expanded, the disc 

 becoming plane then convex, pale yellowish green when 

 moist, the margin externally furfuraceous or scurfv, the disc 

 becoming studded with black points due to the dark-coloured 

 spores in the projecting asci; when old the disc becomes 

 blackish-brown and often depressed, the pale granular margin 



