1926 



BURT THELEPHORACEAE OF NORTH AMERICA. XV 261 



3 : 8. /. 75. 1889 ; Fries, Hym. Eur. 652. 1874 ; Sacc. Syll. Fung. 

 6: 623. 1888; Massee, Linn. Soc. Bot. Jour. 27: 152. 1890. 



Gloeocystidium livido-caeruleum (Karst.) v. Hohnel & Lit- 

 schauer, K. Akad. Wiss. Wien Sitzungsber. 115: 1554. 1906; 

 Bourdot & Galzin, Soc. Myc. Fr. Bui. 28: 355. 1913. An 

 Corticium plumbeum Fries, Hym. Eur. 653. 1874? 



Type: studied from Karsten Herb, in Helsingfors by v. Hohnel 

 & Litschauer, loc. tit. 



Fructifications long-effused, agglutinate, waxy-soft, not separ- 

 able, white at first, then darkening in spots, finally more or less 

 completely slate-gray to dark plumbeous, white, pruinose, 

 rarely cracked; in section 100-250 \x thick, colored within when 

 mature by 1-3 bluish black layers whose color is unchanged in 

 lactic acid mounts but becomes at first vinaceous and is then 

 dissolved and the sections bleached by potassium hydrate solu- 

 tion; very young fructifications not colored within; hyphae about 

 3 [x in diameter, glued together so that the outline is not clearly 

 shown; gloeocystidia elongated, flexuous, 30-60 X 3-6 |i; spores 

 hyaline, even, 4J^-6 X ^Vr^A v 



Fructifications 1-10 cm. long, 2 mm.-3 cm. wide. 



Under side of decaying coniferous rails, boards, and shingles, 

 recorded on Abies, Pinus and Thuja. In Europe and in Canada, 

 Vermont, New York, Montana, and Manitoba. April to Sep- 

 tember. Infrequent. 



The dark lead color of one or more layers in the interior of the 

 fructifications and the destruction of the coloring pigment by 

 seven per cent potassium hydrate solution, together with the 

 presence of gloeocystidia, afford a group of characters by which 

 C. livido-caeruleum may be confidently recognized. Karsten did 

 not send me an authentic specimen of his C. livido-caeruleum but 

 he sent a specimen with the same characters under the name Cor- 

 ticium plumbeum Fr. 



Specimens examined: 

 Sweden: L. Romell, 107; Lappland, L. Romell, Jfi9. 

 Finland: Mustiala, P. A. Karsten, under the name C. plumbeum 



Fr. 

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

 Canada : J. Macoun, 37. 



