rare in this country. Our common .Eastern plant which we call Polyporus picipes is thinner 

 and of darker color, but it is only a geographical form of Polyporus varius. 



B -Q u 3 '^^ adulu ^ } ir j !l l? sum - Kalchbrenner (as Lopharia), from A. V. Duthrie, 

 British South Africa. Doubtfully distinct from Radulum mirabile. Kalchbrenner proposed 

 the genus Lopharia, apparently in ignorance of. the existence of the genus Radulum, 

 and described the hymenium as smooth. So it is to the eye, but under a microscope is 

 densely covered with large metuloids sometimes 100 mic. long. Massee discovered these and 

 based on them the genus Thwaitesiella. Patouillard took the idea from Massee, and 

 substituted Kalchbrenner's name, and cited his publication, although Kalchbrenner had not 

 the slightest conception or idea of a genus in the sense of Massee or Patouillard. I favor 

 calling it Radulum. It is a useless split, and the same thing could be done with many 

 other genera, such as Cladoderris. 



NOTE 164. Lycoperdon multiseptum. Sent by A. V. Duthie, British South Africa. 

 This was sent as "our common, white puff ball." When I examined it under the micro- 

 scope, 1 found it something quite uncommon. The capillitium is scanty, hyaline, thick, 

 8-10 mic., and divided by septa every 16-20 mic. I never before saw anything like it. 

 Excepting as to this peculiar'capillitium, the plant is Lycoperdon pratense in every char- 

 acter. There are several species of Lycoperdon, viz. : pratense, Wrightii, etc., with hyaline 

 capillitium, septate at rare intervals, but this species has the septae so close that it could be 

 likened to the spores of some septate Geoglossum. 



NOTE 165: Xerotus lateritius From S. C. Edwards, Gainesville, Fla. A rare genus 

 and fine specimen. The genus Xerotus needs revision very badly. It is mostly a tropical 

 genus, and I have an idea from looking through the covers at Kew that it is largely 

 one species. In short, it is a Panus with colored context, rigid, dry, usually distant, 

 colored gills. We have, we are sure, but one species in the Southern United States, which 

 was called by Berkeley, Xerotus lateritius and Xerotus viticola, and probably has other 

 names from other countries. 



All Xerotus have hyaline spores. Cesati discovered that the spores were "nigricantes" 

 and based a genus Anthracophyllum on the discovery. Kalchbrenner confirmed it. What 

 they saw were not spores. Bresadola uses the genus, but remarks, "Spores not found, but 

 I scarcely believe that they are black." If the spores are not black, then of what value is 

 the genus? It seems to me the genus Anthracophyllum, based on a blunder only, should 

 be "zu streichen," as the Germans would say. 



The spores of our American plant are piriform, 8x14, hyaline, apiculate, with granular 

 contents. The coloring matter of the plant is readily dissolved in potash, and the resulting 

 solution is dark-green. 



I have a collection front the Philippines labeled Anthracophyllum nigrita, but I believe 

 it is the same as our American plant. It is darker in color, probably from age, but other- 

 wise seems the same to me. When the name of this plant is settled according to the 

 sacred law of priority, it will probably be Xerotus Berterii. 



NOTE 166. Trametes lactea. From Mr. S. C. Edwards, Gainesville, Fla. This is 

 only the Trametes form of the common Lenzites repanda of the tropics. 



NOTE 167. Cordyceps sobolifera, received from S. Kawamura, Tokyo, Japan. This 

 is a most welcome addition to my collection. The species was well illustrated by Tulasne, 

 from West Indian material, but no specimen is found in his herbarium. In fact I found 

 no specimen in any museum in Europe, and I believe the specimen just received is the 

 only one in any museum of America or Europe. 



Cordyceps sobolifera was named from the West Indies in 1763. In the very early 

 times several papers were published regarding it, as in those days they supposed it to 

 be a mutation of an insect into a plant. It was said to be frequent in several West Indian 

 islands, but no specimen seems to have reached Europe. Dr. Kawamura writes me that 

 it is common in Japan. The species is not included in Matsumura's list. 



NOTE 168. Hydnum mirabile, sent by Mrs. Frank E. Lowe, Worcester, Mass. There 

 has been much doubt as to the identity of this plant (cfr. Note 136). Peck years ago re- 

 ferred it to Hydnum mirabile, as illustrated by Fries, but this has been questioned and 

 Atkinson proposed it as a "new species," Hydnum cristatum. Hydnum mirabile is a most 

 rare plant in Europe, and has not been found for sixty years until recently by Erik Hag- 

 lund at Norrkoping, Sweden. On comparison of the Swedish plant with our American 

 specimens, there is no doubt in my mind they are the same plant. Mrs. Lowe's specimens 

 were sent fresh, but when received by me they were partly dried. I can not detect the 

 acrid taste which this species is reported as having when fresh. Hydnum mirabile is tairly 

 common in our Eastern States. I have specimens from Mrs. Frank E. Lowe, R. B. Mackin- 

 tosh, Geo. E. Morris, and E. B. Sterling, all from Eastern stations. 



NOTE 169. Polystictus Macounii, sent by Prof. John Macoun, Sidney, B. C., Canada. 

 This being the third time we have received the plant, we have concluded to give it a name. 

 By stretching a point, it might be considered as a form of that heterogeneous collection 

 called Polystictus versicolor, but this has a character that versicolor does not have. It is 

 reduced to the base, substipitate, petaloid. There are those who are disposed to undervalue 

 a character of this kind. There are some species, Polyporus Schweinitzii for instance, 

 where the stipe is not a character, but a condition. That is true also of most species of 

 Cladoderris. But what holds in some cases does not hold in the majority. Of the large 

 part of the species considered in our pamphlet, Stipitate Polyporoids, the stipe is s 

 essential and constant a character of the species as are legs a characteristic of a man. S>o 

 in this case. There are several hundred collections of Polystictus versicolor in our museum, 

 and I doubt if any of them have any tendency to form a stipe. But this plant does, 

 and besides it is about four times as large as the usual pileus of Polystictus versicolor. It 



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