559 



than the surrounding portion of the bark, but the outer layer slightly 

 blackened so as to show on a cross section near the base a faint cir- 

 cumscribing line, and when the bark is peeled off, the inner surface 

 shows faint, whitish spots indicating the position of the stromata buried 

 in the bark. Perithecia 6-15 crowded in the bottom of the stroma, 

 small (| mm. or less), black, coriaceous, their rather short necks termi- 

 nating in hemispherical, black ostiola scattered and erumpent through 

 the strongly convex disk. Asci cylindrical, short-stipitate, 75-80 x 

 4 //, paraphysate. Sporidia uniseriate, oblong, uniseptate, brown, not 

 constricted, straight or slightly curved, 1 2-1 5 x 3-4 pu 

 On bark of dead alders, New York and New Jersey. 



V. purpurea, Pk. Bull. Torr. Bot. Club, XI, p. 28. 



Pustules prominent, erumpent, covered with a purplish tome n turn. 

 Perithecia 6-20 in a pustule, crowded, subglobose, black. Ostiola 

 piercing the tomentum, rostrate, cylindrical or elongated-conical, rug- 

 ged, sometimes curved or flexuous, black. Asci cylindrical, paraph- 

 ysate, 75-105x10 p.. Sporidia uniseriate, colored, oblong-elliptical, 

 uniseptate, 15-18 x 7|-8 yt. 



On bark of dead Fraxinus, Canada (Macoun). 



V. Peckii, (Howe). 



Valsa Peckii, Howe, 27th Rep. N. Y. State Mus. p. 109. 

 Valsaria Peckii, Sacc. Syll. 2825, Cke. Syn. 2076. 

 Exsicc. Ell. N. A. F. J71. 



Stroma oblong or elliptical, 1-2 mm. long, covered by the bark 

 and partly sunk in the wood, gray inside. Perithecia 5-15 crowded 

 in the bottom of the stroma, rather less than \ mm. diam., ovate- 

 globose, coriaceous, thick-walled. Ostiola erumpent, connate, stout- 

 cylindrical, rough, mostly sparingly clothed with a thin, light brown, 

 farinose tomentum, conic-hemispherical or obtuse at the apex, perfor- 

 ated, rising through the slightly elevated bark in an oblong, dense 

 fascicle. Asci narrow-cylindrical, short-stipitate, 100-110x5-6 //, 

 paraphysate. Sporidia uniseriate, oblong-cylindrical, straight or 

 slightly curved, uniseptate, brown, 12-15x5 //. 



On dead stems of Kalmia latifolia and Vaccinium corymboxHm. 

 New York and New Jersey. 



V. Niesslii, (Winter). 



Phceosperma Niesslii, Winter, in Hedw. 1874, p. 131. 

 Valsaria Niesslii, Winter, Sacc. Syll. 2836, Cke. Syn. 2086. 



Stroma immersed in the inner bark, thick, hemispherical from an 



