[Vol. 7 

 170 ANNALS OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 



Canada, throughout the United States, except in the Rocky- 

 Mountain region, in Mexico and the West Indies. July to 

 January. Common in the United States. 



S. rameale varies somewhat under the different conditions as 

 to climate and substratum in the great extent of North America 

 where it is our commonest species of Stereum. In the United 

 States and Canada one will hardly go amiss in referring to S. 

 rameale any Stereum with numerous small pilei densely crowded 

 together imbricately or laterally, strigose hairy near the region 

 of attachment, and with marginal side shining, somewhat zonate, 

 and pinkish buff to hazel in color, and with these pilei drying 

 folded together along the sides, or radially plicate in a laterally 

 confluent form. The pileus of S. rameale is thinner than that 

 of S. hirsutum, only partially covered with hairs, which do not 

 form as heavy a covering where present, and the pilei are folded 

 together laterally and are smaller than those of S. hirsutum. S. 

 sericeum has small, shining, very thin pilei between whitish and 

 pale drab-gray on both surfaces wholly lacking ruddy ochra- 

 ceous coloration and almost always growing on Carpinus 

 caroliniana. 



Schweinitz communicated to Fries specimens of S. rameale 

 which are still preserved in the herbarium at Upsala; Fries 

 published the species as a synonym of S. hirsutum in Elenchus 

 Fung.; Schweinitz yielded to the authority of Fries but pro- 

 tested that S. rameale was a distinct variety, at least. Other 

 American specimens of this species were received by Fries, who 

 described and published them in 1838 as S. complicatum, over- 

 looking the earlier and nearly identical specimens from Schwei- 

 nitz and the earlier, appropriate name for the species. 



Specimens examined: 

 Exsiccati: Bartholomew, Fungi Col., 2881, 4289, 4689, 4985; 



Ellis, N. Am. Fungi, 324; Ell. & Ev., Fungi Col., 307; 



Ravenel, Fungi Car. 2:30; Fungi Am., 117; Smith, Cent. 



Am. Fungi, 96, 97 the latter under the name S. sericeum; 



de Thumen, Myc. Univ., 1404. 

 Canada, Ontario: Belleville, J. Macoun, 21+0; Port Credit, J. H. 



Fault, Univ. Toronto Herb., 317 (in Mo. Bot. Gard. Herb., 



44878); Toronto, R. P. Wodehouse, Univ. Toronto Herb., 



316 (in Mo. Bot. Gard. Herb., 44879). 



