IMPERFECT CAPSULAR FUNGI— SPHAEROPSIDEAE 261 



sporophores." The primary families would depend for their 

 distinctive characters upon the nature of the perithecium. 

 The first and largest is the Sphaerioideae, in which the 

 perithecia are membranaceous, coriaceous, or subcarbonaceous, 

 typically subglobose, and closed ; thus analogous to the old 

 genus Sphaeria. The second family, Nectrioideae, with the 

 perithecia similar in form, but fleshy or waxy, and usually 

 brightly coloured, analogous to the old genus Nedria, or the 

 more recent family Hypocreaceae. Then the third family, the 

 Leptostromaceae, has the perithecium more or less dimidiate, 

 and astomous, or with a longitudinal fissure, and black, corre- 

 sponding in some respects to Hysteriaceae. Finally, the fourth 

 family is JExcipulaceae, with the perithecium cup -shaped, or 

 patellate, at first spherical, then broadly open, and making the 

 nearest approach to analogy with the Discomycetes. Each of 

 these families we must therefore analyse a little more in detail, 

 bearing in mind their distinctive family features. 



The SjjJiaerioideae are therefore the Sphaeriaceous, or 

 Sphaeria-like, SjjJiaerojysideae, with blackish closed perithecia ; 

 and although we should have preferred grouping them in a 

 similar manner to our subfamilies of the Sphaeriaceae, we will 

 rest content with the arrangement proposed in the Sylloge, 

 which will be the one generally adopted for some time to come. 

 Of course this method is an artificial one, to a great extent, 

 being based upon the character of the sporules. The Hyalo- 

 sporae is again the largest section, including all the genera 

 with continuous hyaline sporules ; those in which the peri- 

 thecia are simple or distinct forming one subsection, and 

 those in which the perithecia are composite or caespitose 

 forming another. Amongst the simple species the larger 

 number have the perithecia naked or smooth, and of these one 

 genus, Fhyllostida, is often parasitic, growing upon leaves, the 

 depressed and innate perithecia being grouped on discoloured 

 spots ; the remaining genera have the species not seated on 

 definite spots, and of these three are very similar to each other ; 

 that is to say, Phoma, with the perithecia (Fig. 121) covered 

 by the cuticle ; Aposphaeria, with the perithecia exposed, or 

 superficial, mostly on dead wood ; and Dendrophoma, which in all 

 things else resemble PJioma except that the sporophores are 



