MYCOLOGICAL NOTES. 



BY C. G. L-L-OYD. 



Polyporoid Issue, No. 1. 



CINCINNATI, O. FEBRUARY, 1908. 



We begin with this issue a series devoted to the polyporoids of Europe 

 and America. As yet we have only devoted about a year to their special study, and 

 Df course there are many questions in connection with the subject that have 

 not yet been solved. It is needless to say that we shall be conservative and fol- 

 ,ow the established usage in our names and classification. We take no stock 

 whatever in the exuberance of new names that have been proposed in the last 

 r ew years and shall not bother our readers with them. 



POLYSTICTUS (SECTION PELLOPORUS). 



The genus Polystictus, as proposed by Fries and adopted gener- 

 illy by mycologists, is defined by one word coriaceous. It differs 

 roni the larger section now known as the true Polyporus in its tex- 

 ure, being usually thin, flexible, coriaceous or membranaceous. 

 When fresh it is never soft, fleshy, watery, and when dry it is gener- 

 .lly more flexible than brittle. Like all characters on which genera 

 .re based, intermediate species occur that are difficult to place, espe- 

 :ially from the dried specimens, and the best that can be done in such 

 ases is to judge from related plants. There are no hard and sharp 

 ines in Nature. 



Fries divided the genus Polystictus into a number of sections, 

 >ut unfortunately he did not give the different sections distinctive 

 lames. Had he done so, the expenditure of much gray matter would 

 lave been saved to the modern name changers, who busy themselves 

 discovering that the sections of Fries form "new genera" and then 

 ;etting up various pretexts to juggle around the names. 



The section under consideration was called by Fries in the main 

 Perennes" and embraces the Polystictus that have stems either 

 .lesopodal or pleuropodal and colored context. It can be divided 

 'generically" of course if one wishes) into "genera" with hyaline 

 ncl "genera" with colored spores, or into "genera" with colored 

 etae and "genera" without colored setae, or into "genera" with uni- 

 :>rm context or " genera " with the dual context. 



Karsten, who was the first to engage in discovering " new gen- 

 ra" in Fries' sections, called this "genus" Polystictus, but the name 

 > applied to so many plants that it seems to me if advisable to spe- 

 ially distinguish these sections by separate names the name Polystic- 

 is should be used for the main section and these smaller ones given 

 ther names. The next name-juggler to engage in the work was 

 |uelet who called Fries' section, Perennes, Pelloporus. Since it has 

 UNIVERSITY 0* CAI IFORKIA 



AT LOS A 



JAN 2 01942 



