and that of Peck were Secotium acuminatum, and that Montague 

 had beautifully illustrated it. Peck admitted the genus but for 

 many years maintained that our American plant could not be Seco- 

 tium acuminatum, for it was never acuminate. As a matter of fact. 



neither is the European plant, nor 

 Montagne's figure, nor the original 

 specimen which was from Algeria. 

 Montagne simply misnamed it, 

 for at the best the plant is never 

 more than "obtusely acute." The 

 plant has an older name (from 

 Russia), which date dictionary 

 jugglers have tried to substitute, 

 but as it is about as bad as acu- 

 minatum, not much success has 

 rewarded their efforts. 



STEREUM SOWERBYI. 

 FROM J. M. GRANT, WASH- 

 INGTON (Fig. 875). (Compare 

 Stipitate Stereum, page 20.) This 

 is a very rare plant in Europe, 

 and these are the first specimens 

 I have seen from this country. 

 The species is very close to Ste- 



F . 875 reum diaphanum, but differs in 



being a slightly thicker plant, not 



so pale, and the upper surface is marked with darker, radiate fibrils. 



The photograph (Fig. 875), enlarged to show these fibrils, which are 



the main distinguishing features. 



POLYSTICTUS XAXTHOPUS-CONCINNUS, FROM P. VAN 

 DER BIJL, SOUTH AFRICA (Fig. 876). Intermediate between 

 these two species. Polystictus xanthopus (cfr. Stip. Pol. p. 173) is 

 an abundant species in Africa and the East. I presume I have fifty 

 collections. Every one of them is perfectly glabrous, both stem 

 and pileus. Polystictus concinnus is same plant, except dark color, 

 and pileus and stem are covered with fine, velvety pubescence. This 

 specimen has the pubescent stem of concinnus and the nearly glabrous 

 and pale colored pileus of xanthopus. In nature there is no "such 

 animal" as species with definite limitations as mycologists profess. 



POLYSTICTUS AFFIX IS-CONCINNUS, FROM MR. VAN 

 DER BIJL, SOUTH AFRICA (Fig. 877). A pleuropodial plant, ex- 

 actly same in color and pubescence as the preceding plant. Surely 

 both are the same species, although in our system of classification they 

 go in different sections of the genus. We refer the latter to Polystictus 

 affinis. but it is not exactly that, for affinis is glabrous. 



618 



