310 L'Abbe E. Coemans on the Cladonise 



9. Cladonia pyxidata {L.), (Ach.) Syn. p. 252 et hb. ejusd. 



Acharius, in his Synopsis, distinguishes four forms and one 

 variety of C. pyxidata, all of which are found in his herbarium. 



And first as to the forms. He designates under the name 

 simplex, spermogoniferous non-proliferous individuals; under 

 that of staphylea, apotheciferous individuals ; under that of syn- 

 theta, proliferous plants ; and, lastly, under that of lophyra, 

 squamiferous specimens. These distinctions appear to me very 

 useless, and only serve to overload the nomenclature with new 

 names, and in effect only indicate that each species has a sper- 

 mogoniferous, fertile, proliferous, or squamulose state. These 

 Acharian forms may therefore well be rejected. 



With regard to ihe form lophyra, Acharius has applied this 

 name to two distinct forms, at first to C. pyxidata (Syn. p. 253), 

 and afterwards to C.fimbriata (Syn. Suppl. p. 342). The typi- 

 cal Acharian specimen belongs nevertheless to C pyxidata. 



Amongst the C. pyxidata of the Acharian collection are found 

 many different species, — a Swedish specimen of C. cariosa; an- 

 other of C. cornucopioides from Switzerland ; a third of C. pi- 

 tyrea (Ach.), received from France; and, lastly, a specimen of 

 C. decorticata, Fr., collected in Norway. We must not infer, 

 however, from this inexactitude, that Acharius confounded all 

 these species. It merely shows that in reviewing his herbarium, 

 towards the close of his life, he did not always give the requisite 

 attention to the work. 



As to the var. /S. coralloidea (Syn. p. 253), it is very difficult 

 to decide with certainty to what species it belongs, because the 

 specimens, or rather fragments in the Acharian herbarium are 

 particularly small and altogether insufficient. These specimens 

 are of the height and have nearly the aspect of C papillai'ia 

 molarifor-mis, and have short, abortive, granulose, and spermo- 

 goniferous branches. Acharius had only once met with a small 

 tuft of this variety*. No one since his time has rediscovered it; 

 moreover it is only an accidental form of C. degenerans or cris- 

 pata, and consequently may be neglected. The only developed 

 specimen w^hich permits us to distinguish any characters exhibits 

 the summits of the branches perforated, as in this last species. 



The C. coralloidea (Ach.), Rabenhorst, Clad. Europ. t. xi., 

 has no resemblance to the plant of which we are speaking, and 

 is in fact C. decorticata, Fr., Nyl. 



Acharius has not mentioned in his works a very important 

 variety of C. pyxidata, named by Florke var. chlorophcea -, so 



* The two small fragments from Switzerland, which equally bear the 

 name of C. coralloidea in the Acharian herbarium, do not belong to the 

 same type. 



