Sorospflriiini — Thccafliora. 185 



Eragroslis. 

 43. Sorosporium turner! McAlp. 



Sori in ovaries, usually affecting each spikclet, ultimately exposed as 

 a dense black mass, with the remains of the pistil usually projecting 

 and a central columella of plant tissue. 



Spore-balls irregular, subglobose to oblong, usually firmly united, 

 60-100 /I long. 



Spores dark olive-brown, globose, with thin and smooth epispore, 

 10-11 ju diam. 

 On Eragrostis nigra Nees var. trachycarpa. 



New South Wales — Near Armidale, New England (Turner). 

 The only two species of smut recorded on Eragrostis are Ustilago spev 

 mophora B. and C. in America and Sphacelotheca strangulans (Issat.) Clint- 

 in Russia. The spores are echinulate or aculeolate \\\ both. 



(Plate XLIV.) 



THECAPHORA Fingerhuth. 



Sori in various parts of the host, but usually in the ovaries, forming a 

 dusty spore mass at maturity. 



Spore-balls light-coloured, composed of few or many spores, firmly and 

 rather permanently united. 



Spores smooth on contiguous sides but usually marked on free surface. 

 Germination by means of an elongated septate mycelium, and as far as known, 

 only producing a single conidium at the apex. This genus is distinguished 

 from Sorosporium by the firmly united spores, and their being marked on 

 the free surface but smooth on the united side, 



Australian species, 2. 



Lagcnophora. 

 44. Thecaphora lagenophorae McAlp. 



Usiihiqo Itigenophorae McAlpine, Agr. Gaz. N.S.W., YL, p. 758, 

 (1895). 



Sori in ovaries, forming brown powdery spore-masses. 



Spore-balls cinnamon-brown, siib-globose to oblong, composed 

 of three to ten spores, firm. 



Spores pale yellowish-brown, globose, sub-globose, or oval, waited 

 on outer surface, but smooth where united, 18-22 /« diam. 

 On Laqenophora emphysopus Hook. f. 



Tasmania — Mount Dromedarv, at foot, Dec, 1894 (Rodway). 

 Sandford, Jan., 1908 (Rodway). 

 The entire flower-head is converted into a mass of spores by means of 

 this smut. 



I did not succeed in getting the spores to germinate even when fresh, but 

 the light-coloured spore-balls and the spores being smooth on the united face 

 indicate this genus. 



. (Plate XLV.) 



