38 ANGIOCARPOUS LICHENS. 



unfrequently," however, as Mr. Borrer observes {i7i lit, 

 1850), "in small young specimens, on oak trees, the 

 v^^hole surface is suffused with black. See E. Bot. 

 Suppl, fig. 1 br 



Distinguished from V, oUvacea, cinerea, 2X\A gemmata, 

 by the entire perithecium and differently shaped sporidia, 

 and from V, rhyponta by the different sporidia, not to 

 mention various particulars of difference in the thallus 

 and size of the apothecia. 



An original specimen ! of V. hyssacea, Fl. Hib. p. ii. 89, 

 sent by Dr. l^aylor to Mr. Borrer, with his first MS., 

 name, " Verr. ca?iceUata, Nobis, from Ardtully, county 

 Kerry," is evidently nothing more than V, hifonnis, (see 

 Plate XVI. fig. 3.) The cancellate appearance of the 

 thallus seemed to arise from the horizontal walls of the 

 cells of the epidermis having been eaten away by insects, 

 or probably collapsed, leaving the vertical walls remaining. 

 The synonym of Acharius must be excluded from the 

 plant of FL Hib., the true V, byssacea being quite a dif- 

 ferent thing, and belonging to the genus Pyrenothea. A 

 specimen! in Mr. Borrer 's herbarium, labelled "K byssacea 

 {verd)Bch(Brery has the perithecium dimidiate, with alight- 

 coloured inner tunic, nucleus white, sporidia free, not in 

 asci, broadly linear, rounded at each end, triseptate, pale- 

 yellow. (See Plate XVI. fig. 4.) 



A specimen ! of " V, byssacea, var. stictica,'' from 

 Schleicher, in herb. Borrer. showed a globose, somewhat 

 ampuUgeform perithecium perfectly entire, immersed in 

 the bark, the apex free ; sporidia in asci 8, very slender 

 and delicate, of an acicular, or very narrow fusiform 

 shape, tapered considerably towards each extremity, pe- 

 culiarly curved, bearing a singular resemblance to a very 

 minute Closterium, pale-yellow, with 3 or 5 septa, but I 

 am uncertain which, as, from their extreme delicacy, 

 I could not accurately determine. I incline to regard 

 this as a fungus, probably a Sphaeria. (See Plate XVI. 

 fig. 5.) 



