I was recently told that some of Swartz's species are represented in Thunberg's herba- 

 rium at Upsala; viz., Boletus fasciatus, hydnoides, villosus, but Boletus supinus does not 

 occur there, I am informed. 



What you sent me seems to be young specimens of the species which I refer to under 

 the name of Pomes plebeius in Hymen, austroameric. And if Swartz called it Bol. supinus, 

 his name can hardly be accepted, as it means resupinatus, a condition which is by no 

 means characteristic for this species. 



As to Bol. fasciatus, of which you told me in another letter that a specimen so named 

 in British Museum is identical with Fomes subfomentarius, I can now report that Prof. 

 Juel has compared Fomes subfomentarius with the authentic specimen of Bol. fasciatus, 

 which occurs in Thunberg's herbarium, and he says that the two are distinct, Bol. fasci- 

 atus being a flat, thin species, about 4 mm. thick, with no tinder, upper surface radially 

 striate, with black concentric zones. Thus, if the specimen at British Museum is really 

 my Fomes subfomentarius, the name Boletus fasciatus seems to cover two species." 



The specimen in the British Museum, I am quite sure, is the same as marmoratus of 

 Berkeley or subfomentarius of Romell. Mr. Romell seems to lay stress on the specimen 

 in Thunberg's herbarium and is not disposed to accept fasciatus as a name for the species. 

 It seems to be one of those cases where the history of the naming is clouded from the 

 fact that the author himself did not know his own species. 



NOTE 34. Fomes graveolens, odor of it. 



We made a note, number 19, regarding the "odor" of Fomes graveolens from a state- 

 ment made by O. M. Overholts, who collected it fresh, and stated that he was unable to 

 note any fragrance. It has always had a general reputation of being a fragrant species. 

 We have recently had a letter from Mr. James K. Weir, who writes as follows : 



"Every farmer in this region knows Fomes graveolens by its sweet odor. This is an 

 assured fa_ct. I have often collected it in this condition. The old specimens sometimes 

 retain their odor." 



NOTE 35. Polyporus radiatus. Mr. Romell. in a letter written me on May 19th. is 

 very positive that the spores of this species are hyaline. He states that his previous ob- 

 servations, when he had supposed them to be colored, were due to his mistaking them for 

 Polyporus vulpinus. Bresadola published that the spores of Polyporus radiatus are faintly 

 colored. I have never observed them in mass, but they appear to me hyaline under the 

 microscope. 



NOTE 36. "Polyporus flavo-virens." It is well established that Polyporus flavo- 

 virens, which is a rather frequent plant in America, is same as Polyporus cristatus of 

 Europe (cfr. Syn. Section Ovinus, p. 80). Worthington G. Smith, in Vol. 1 of the British 

 Mycological Society's Transactions, records Polyporus flavo-virens as a British plant, but 

 from the spore size that he gives (7-8 x 15-18), it is not possible that it is correctly deter- 

 mined. Without the specimen it is impossible to say what Mr. Smith has so identified, 

 but the probabilities are that it is Polypc-rus Pes-caprae, which is a similar species as to 

 color with spores such as he gives. 



NOTE 37. Polyporus frondosus and Polyporus intybaceus in England. Although 

 these two species are carried in most of the mycological books of Europe, I have never 

 been able to find but one plant and have about reached the conclusion they are synonyms. 

 There is a very common plant throughout Europe as well as America that is undoubtedly 

 Polyporus frondosus in the sense of Fries, but I can not locate Polyporus intybaceus as a 

 different plant. From Fries's records intybaceus seems to have been a very rare plant 

 which he collected at but one locality in Sweden (Halland), and hence it can not be tfi 

 common plant that every one finds in Sweden and which is known in English tradition as 

 Polyporus intybaceus. 



Mr. Oarleton Rea writes me: "I have always thought I could distinguish between 

 frondosus and intybaceus. The former has punctate spores 5x6 mic., the latter smooth 

 spores, 3 x 6-7 mic." I feel that Mr. Rea's reference to Polyporus intybaceus with smooth 

 spores should be Polyporus frondosus, but what the plant is that he calls frondosus with 

 punctate spores, I do not know. The only plant in Europe to my knowledge with punctate 

 (or tubercular) spores is Polyporus montanus, but it does not seem possible to me that it 

 has been confused with frondosus. 



NOTE 38. Polyporus colossus. The type specimen of Polyporus colossus is in a jar- 

 at Upsala. It has typical Ganodermus spores, which are so abundant in the specimen thai* 

 it is impossible to make a microscopic mount without seeing hundreds of them. They are 

 elliptical, deep colored, and are truncate at the base. Patouillard has decided tliat Poly- 

 porus colossus is a new species and calls it Polyporus obokensis, but that. is another story 



Mr Murrill after visiting Upsala, where the type is preserved, came back home ana 

 had the assurance to publish that he had discovered Polyporus colossus to be a new 

 genus" that he characterized as having globose, hyaline spores, 4 mic. in diameter, ihese 

 spores have about as much resemblance to those of Polyporus colossus under the micro- 

 scope as a billiard ball has to an eel. 



The plain truth is (probably) that after visiting the museum where Polyporus co ossus 

 is preserved, that he knew nothing more about its identity than he did before he made the 

 visit and on receiving specimens from the tropics (probably Polyporus Talpae) which 

 were large, he thought they were Polyporus colossus, from the name. On this vague data 

 he proceeded to erect a "new genus," which he calls "Toinophagus.y The genus would 

 have been more appropriately named had it been called "Tommyrot. 



NOTE 39 Hirneola Auricula-Judae. I have just made comparisons of the large 

 amount of material of the genus Hirneola that has accumulated at the museum and I am 

 forced to the conclusion that there is really but one wide-spread species It takes several 

 forms The thin form of the temperate region is Hirneola Auricula-Judae typically, and 



