4 BULLETIN 380,, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Fries (31, p. 73) had at that time, according to his own statement, 

 authentic specimens of Sphaeria gyros a sent him by Schweinitz and 

 also the specimens collected by Guepin and Levieux in France, 

 which he identified as this species. In Fries's herbarium at Upsala 

 at present are found specimens of true S. gyrosa Schw. with 

 Schweinitz's autograph label, but no specimens of S. gyrosa could 

 be found attributed to Guepin or Levieux. There is a small packet 

 marked " Sph. gyrosa" apparently in Fries's handwriting, but 

 there seems to have been some confusion in the labeling or mounting 

 of this specimen, as a small stroma of Hypoxylon annulatum which 

 does not look at all like Endothia is included. The other piece 

 consists of an irregular pycnidial stroma which may be the southern 

 European specimens referred to in the description quoted. Fries's 

 identification of this European material as E. gyrosa was apparently 

 based chiefly upon its superficial resemblance to the pycnidial 

 stromata of Schweinitz's American specimens. The senior writer has 

 seen and made a careful microscopic examination of a specimen col- 

 lected by Guepin in France and preserved in De Notaris's herbarium 

 at Rome. It is labeled "Sphaeria gyrosa Fries, Guepin, Angers." 

 The specific name " gyrosa " has been crossed out by De Notaris 

 and " radicalis Schw." written above it and the date " April, 1845," 

 added. This appears to be a part of the same collection that 

 Guepin sent to Fries, as the specimen agrees well with Fries's 

 description and consists chiefly of pycnidial stromata which are 

 rather larger than is usual for Sphaeria radicalis and show con- 

 siderable superficial resemblance to the stromata of Sphaeria gyrosa 

 Schw. A thorough examination of this specimen, however, reveals 

 a few perithecia and ascospores, which leave no doubt that it is 

 8. radicalis of Schweinitz, as indicated by De Notaris on the label. 

 What the plant sent Fries by Levieux was is unknown, as no speci- 

 men so labeled could be found in Fries's herbarium. It appears 

 from all the evidence at hand that Fries was mistaken in his identi- 

 fication of the material from Levieux and Guepin, as no specimens 

 of the true Sphaeria gyrosa Schw. have yet been seen from Europe. 

 There seems to be no doubt, however, that Fries intended the true 

 Sphaeria gyrosa Schw. to represent the type of his genus Endothia, 

 as he had a part of Schweinitz's original collection at the time and 

 never definitely placed any other species in the genus; hence, 

 Sphaeria gyrosa Schw. should be adopted as the nomenclatorial 

 type of the genus. It is clear from Fries's writings and specimens 

 that he knew Sphaeria radicalis Schw., as he had American speci- 

 mens from Schweinitz as Avell as European collections at the time 

 he founded this genus. He did not, however, apparently regard it 

 as congeneric with &. gyrosa. His specimens of $. radicalis show 



