2 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF FUNGI 



are probably some lichens or some algae in which true chloro- 

 phyll is not present ? 



But speaking of them as a whole, we are justified in saying 

 of Fungi that they are " cryptogams without chlorophyll," and 

 in this we shall embody the most important characters of the 

 group " — a general definition which may be accepted without 

 reservation. Except for one or two small fiimilies, we could 

 add also " without determinate sexuality." 



Previous to this, Berkeley had pointed out that the 

 definition was imperfect which described Fungi as " deriving 

 nourishment by means of a mycelium from the matrix, and 

 never producing from their component threads green bodies 

 resembling chlorophyll," -^ for, he goes on to observe, " it is true 

 that a few Algae, such as Botrydium, do probably imbibe some- 

 thing from the soil by means of their rootlets, which can 

 scarcely be mere holdfasts " ; and again, " When we examine 

 Fungi more closely, we shall have reason to believe that there 

 are exceptions here also as to their deriving nutriment from 

 their matrix. I have, for instance, found a Cyphella on the 

 hardest gravel stones, where the fine mycelioid threads, by 

 which it was attached, could not possibly derive any nutriment 

 except from matters conveyed to it by the air or falling 

 moisture." To the latter portion of the paragraph, giving the 

 negative character of the absence of chlorophyll, Berkeley, 

 however, gives his adhesion. 



A logical definition, therefore, so commonly fails, that we 

 shall excuse ourselves from attempting a new one, simply 

 indicating a few points to be borne in mind whilst perusing 

 the following pages, from whence alone a general idea can be 

 obtained of such a polymorphous group. Lindley divided all 

 the Cryptogamic plants into two sections, the Acrogens, growing 

 at the summit, including the Ferns, Mosses, and their allies, 

 and the ThaUogens, which embraced Algae, Fungi, and Lichens. 

 Hence we conclude that Fungi are not only Cryptogams, but 

 of that section in which there is no true root or distinct stem 

 with foliaceous appendages. Although the Rev. M. J. Berkeley 

 was, in the main, responsible for Lindley's classification of the 

 Cryptogams, it is out of date and inapplicable in the present 



^ Introduction to Cryjriogamic Botany, p. 235. 



