720 
Since 1829 there have been numerous 
references to the same fungus occurring in 
other European countries. In 1830 Fries 
stated in Linnea that it had been found in 
France, and Tulasne in his ‘‘Carpologia,”’ 
1863, refers in detail to French specimens. 
In 1870 Fuckel and in 1886 Winter re- 
ferred to its occurrence in Germany and 
specimens were distributed by Roumeguére 
in ‘‘Fungi Gallici’’ and Portuguese speci- 
mens in ‘‘‘Fungi Lusitanici.’’ In the re- 
cent ‘‘Flora Italica Cryptogama,’’ 1906, 
the species is said by Traverso to occur in 
still more remote regions. If we are to 
trust the writers above mentioned Endothia 
gyrosa, originally described from North 
Carolina, is a species which is widely scat- 
tered through the northern hemisphere. It 
is generally said to grow on dead wood and 
in no eases is there any mention of a serious 
disease of the trees attacked. The hosts 
mentioned are, besides Castanea, A’sculus, 
Alnus, Carpinus, Corylus, Fagus, Juglans 
and Quercus. 
Although, assuming that Endothia gyr- 
osa and Endothia radicalis are only dif- 
ferent names for a single species, all the 
European mycologists mentioned agree in 
believing that their Endothia on chestnuts 
is identical with the Endothia gyrosa of 
North America, we must ask ourselves 
whether their opinion is correct. This 
brings us to the main question, or rather 
conundrum: What is Endothia gyrosa? 
If we could answer that question most of 
the systematic difficulties which perplex us 
would disappear. Unfortunately, it seems 
to be almost impossible to be sure of what 
Schweinitz included under his Spheria 
gyrosa. Specimens are in the Schwein- 
itzian Herbarium in the Academy of Nat- 
ural Sciences in Philadelphia, and other 
specimens of Schweinitz are to be found in 
a number of other herbaria in this country 
and Europe. Through the kindness of 
SCIENCE 
[N.8. Vou. XXXV. No. 906 
Professor Stewardson Brown I have been 
able to examine the specimens in the acad- 
emy’s collection and I have also examined 
Schweinitzian specimens in some other her- 
baria and have obtained information from 
others who have examined specimens which 
I have not seen. All the specimens I have 
seen agree in external appearance, the fun- 
gus looking to the naked eye like brownish- 
orange, pustulate cushions usually growing 
in cracks in the bark. Unfortunately, mi- 
eroscopic examination does not show asco- 
spores, which are necessary to distinguish 
the species with accuracy. In American 
herbaria one sees many specimens marked 
Endothia gyrosa by different collectors, but 
almost always what was said of Schwein- ~ 
itzian specimens applies to these, viz., they 
show no ascospores. The same is true of 
the specimens distributed in European 
exsiccati with the exception of the No. 986 
of the Erbario Crittogamico. The prob- 
lem is to find undoubted Schweinitzian 
specimens with ascospores and here one 
must be careful to distinguish between 
what may be and what certainly are 
Schweinitzian specimens. I have not fin- 
ished my search, but from my experience 
up to the present time it looks as if it were 
doubtful whether good Schweinitzian speci- 
mens with ascospores can be found. Others, 
however, may be more successful, but since 
Schweinitz himself did not make use of 
microscopic characters it is hardly worth 
while to spend much more time in discus- 
sing what he understood by Spheria gyr- 
Osa, since it is now known that there are at 
least two species in this country which in 
eross appearance resemble Spheria gyrosa, 
but which differ in the size and shape of 
the ascospores. 
Unless we can obtain more information 
than has yet been possible, it will be better 
to consider that the authority for the genus 
Endothia should be Fries, emended by 
