A POSSIBLE MISTAKE IN JAPAN. 



According to the Index Plantarum Japonicarum, Calvatia gigan- 

 tea (there given under the erroneous name of Globaria Bovista) is a 

 common species in Japan. I think this is an error. In fact, I 

 question if Calvatia gigantea grows in Japan. The "giant puff ball" 

 of Japan is not the same as the "giant puff ball" of Europe and 

 America, but is L,asiosphaera Fenzlii, which was considered in My- 

 cological Notes, page 191, Plate 19. It differs from Calvatia gigan- 

 tea in its peridial characters and particularly in its spore characters, 

 having strongly echinulate spores, while those of Calvatia gigantea 

 are smooth. Professor Kusano writes to me that the original record 

 in the Index Plantarum Japonicarum was from specimens that grew 

 in the Botanical Garden of Tokyo, and he sends me a portion of the 

 gleba which from its echinulate spores can readily be determined 

 as L,asiosphaera Fenzlii. I have also gotten Lasiosphaera Fenzlii 

 from Professor A. Yasuda, cfr. Letter 12, and it is the only giant 

 puff ball of which we have any authentic record of its occurrence in 

 Japan. 



There are a number of Japanese names given for this plant 

 in Matsumura's list. Professor Gono favors me with the English 

 equivalents: Yabu-dama, jungle ball; Yama dama, mountain ball; 

 Hokori-take, powdering fungi; Kemuritake, Smoking fungi. 



NOTELETS. 



Polyporus alboluteus. Mr. Ellsworth Bethel kindly informs me this is 

 quite a common plant in the high mountains in Colorado, being found just 

 below the timber line, and growing so far under logs that it is usually over- 

 looked. Inasmuch as it is covered with ice and snow, it has atendency to bleach 

 out on the under surface which gives it a whitish appearance. I made a crit- 

 icism of the name alboluteus on page 379 of Mycological Notes, as the plant 

 is neither white nor yellow, and I am still inclined to think it is a very bad 

 name for it. The plant is orange, and from Mr. Bethel's information the 

 "white" appears to be due to being frost bitten. 



Mutinus caninus. "I see in one of your notes on phalloids that you are 

 inclined to doubt that Mutinus caninus is inodorous. This species is not un- 

 common here in Denmark, and while not absolutely inodorous, is nearly so. 

 In fact, the odor is so faint that it can not be detected at a distance of a few 

 centimeters." Jacob E. L/ange. 



Fistulina hepatica. In my account of this plant I have compared its edi- 

 ble qualities to that of a piece of sole leather. Mr. Edward P. Ely, of Minne- 

 apolis, writes me he finds it quite frequently, and that when young it is tender 

 and juicy, and he is fond of it cut in slices and eaten raw with mayonnaise 

 dressing. I have never seen it growing in quantities where it could be col- 

 lected young, but can testify from my experience that it has very little edible 

 value when mature. 



Dictyocephalos curvatus. I was under the impression that this puff ball 

 was only known from a single collection, but Mr. Bethel informs me that it is 

 found quite abundantly in the arid mesas of western Colorado, close to the 

 Utah line. He has made but one good collection, usually finding it too late 

 for good specimens. He has, however, recognized fragmentary remains in 

 many places. 



411 



