88 LICHENES. [Verrucaria. 



off, and at length exposes the dark brown or black thallus, of the same 

 colour as the apothecia. These have a minute opening on their sum- 

 mits. The perithecium is deficient below the nucleus* The nucleus 

 when moist is pale, semitransparent, and gelatinous ; and contains im- 

 bedded in its substance several terete, lanceolate cellules, nearly opaque, 

 and darker than in any of the congeners. 



4. V. cinerea, PERS. Thallus grey, brownish or olive, mem- 

 branaceous, smooth, continuous, or broken into minute scales ; 

 apothecia subhemispherical, raising up the thallus at their base, 

 black, minute. V. cinerea, Persoon in Ust. Ann Fasc. 7, p. 28, 

 t. 3, f. 6. A. according to Acharius, Lich. Un. p. 276, under V. 

 stigmatella; Eng. Bot. t. J891. 



On the smooth bark of ash, &c. at Dromore, County of Kerry. A 

 variety on holly at Askew Wood has the thallus of a tawny peach- 

 blossom colour, and the apothecia, of very different sizes, scattered 

 rather thinly. The perithecium is deficient below the nucleus, al- 

 though the contrary seems represented in English Botany. This 

 species varies by the colour of the thallus, by the size of the apothecia, 

 even on the same patches, by their greater or less aggregation, by 

 their summits being sometimes imperforated, and at others the pores 

 being very wide, by the surface of the apothecia being polished or 

 wrinkled. Specimens occur in our woods so intermediate between this 

 species and V. epidermidis, AcJi. that I know not to which they 

 should be referred. To V. epidermidis, AcJi. Mr. Borrer unites V. 

 analepta of the same author ; to which again Acharius joined V. 

 olivacea of Persoon. Between this last and V. rhyponta, Ach. Mr. 

 Borrer observes that Mr. Lyell had discovered a Verrucaria nearly in- 

 termediate both as to thallus and apothecia. Acharius distinguishes 

 V. punctiformis, Pers. from his own V. analepta, principally by its 

 globose nucleus ; a character, however, which he informs us, in the 

 same page of his Lich. Universalis, to be of little importance : Sir 

 James Smith relied more on the widely umbilicated appearance of the 

 apothecia not noticed by Acharius ; but then he states in Eng. Bot. 

 that he thought he could trace the various appearances of Acharius's 

 own specimens of V. punctiformis to his own V. analepta. I own 

 that, of the four following numbers, I am unable to say whether they 

 are good species or not. I give the specific characters of authors. 



5. V. epidermidis, ACH. Thallus very thin spreading, cream- 

 coloured ; apothecia black, very minute, roundish, convex, 

 the circumference depressed, with an hemispherical point in the 

 centre. Ach. Syn. p. 89. Hooker Eng.Flor. vol. 5, p. 149. /3. 

 analepta ; thallus olive-coloured inclining to coppery ; apothecia 

 elevated, hemispherical, scattered, black, with a central dot. 

 F. analepta, Ach. Syn. p. 88. Hook Eng, Flor. v. 5, p. 149. Eng. 

 Bot. t. 1848. 



On birch, near Bantry, Miss Hutehins. Near Belfast, Mr. Tern- 

 pleton ; both a and . 



6. V. punctiformis, PERS. Thallus determinate, very thin, 

 smooth, continuous, rusty-brown ; opothecia very minute, black, 

 hemispherical, umbilicated. Ach. Syn.p. 87. Hook. Eng.Flor. 

 vol. 5, p. 150. Eng. Bot. t. 2412. 



