CLASSIFICATION 515 



mouths of the perithecia (spores very long, needle-shaped, eventu- 

 ally many-celled, colourless). 



Readily recognized by forming a deep orange-coloured belt or 

 zone round the upper portion of the stem of various grasses, Holcus 

 lanatns, H. mollis, Agrostis canina, etc. In some parts of the 

 country it is known as the " reed-mace fungus." 



Fortunately this parasite only attacks wild grasses ; if it also 

 infested cereals it would be a very serious matter, as the plants 

 attacked never bloom, and I have seen practically every plant of 

 Agrostis canina extending over an area of many acres on Albury 

 Heath, infested with the fungus. It is also often abundant on 

 grasses growing on the borders of fields, etc. According to a French 

 authority, when hay containing a considerable amount of grass 

 infested with this parasite is eaten by horses, it proves injurious 

 and causes coughing. 



