1925] 



BURT THE THELEPHORACEAE OF NORTH AMERICA. XIV 217 



Illustrations: Fries, Icones Hym. 2: pi. 197, /. 8. 



Fructifications broadly effused, hyaline, white, waxy, swelling 

 when moist and separable from substratum, when dry horn-like 

 and parchment-like, the hymenium even, pale pinkish buff, pale 

 olive-buff, or pallid mouse-gray in the herbarium, the margin 

 white, fibrillose, radiating, sometimes becoming free and curling 

 away from the substratum in drying; in section 100-500 ;jl thick, 

 not colored, with the broad layer towards the substratum com- 

 posed of crowded and more or less longitudinally arranged 

 hyphae so highly gelatinously modified that only the lumen and 

 cell contents usually show distinctly in preparations, about 

 3-5 \l in diameter; cystidia incrusted, about 40-50 X 8-12 \l, 

 confined to the hymenium or a zone up to 100 y. broad; spores 

 hyaline, even, about 4J^-5 X 2J^-3 \l as found in preparations. 



Fructifications 3-30 cm. in diameter. 



On bark and wood of dead conifers such as Pinus, Abies, and 

 Tsuga. In Europe, Canada to Texas, westward to the Pacific 

 states, in Mexico, and in Japan. June to January. Widely dis- 

 tributed and abundant locally. 



P. gigantea may usually be recognized at sight by its occurrence 

 on coniferous bark in large, whitish or pinkish buff fructifications 

 of cartilaginous structure, separable from the substratum and 

 more or less curling away from it in drying. 



Specimens examined: 

 Exsiccati: Bartholomew, Fungi Col., 2422, 4242, 4622; Ellis, N. 



Am. Fungi, 410; Krieger, Fungi Sax., 117; Ravenel, Fungi Am., 



452; Fungi Car. 2: 38; Romell, Fungi Scand., 34; Sydow, Myc. 



Germ., 553; de Thumen, Myc. Univ., 909. 

 Finland: Mustiala, P. A. Karsten, in Myc. Univ., 909. 

 Sweden: L. Romell, 97, 98, 349, and in Romell, Fung. Scand., 34. 

 Germany: Brandenburg, H. Sydow, in Sydow, Myc. Germ., 553; 



Konigstein, W. Krieger, in Krieger, Fungi Sax., 117. 

 Austria: Karwendel, Tirol, V. Litschauer; Stubai, Tirol, V. 



Litschauer. 

 Italy : Trient, G. Bresadola. 

 France: Fautrey, comm. by Lloyd Herb., 4354; Jura, N. Patouil- 



lard (in N. Y. State Mus. Herb., and Mo. Bot. Gard. Herb., 



55907). 



