36 
Vail, A.M. & Rydberg, P. A. Zygophyllaceae. N. Am. FI. 25: 
103-116. 3 Je 1910. 
Williams, R. S. On collecting mosses. Bryologist 13: 56, 57. 
My roto. 
Wilson, P. Notes on Rutaceae—III. Bull. Torrey Club 37: 
85, 86. 5 Mr I9gIo. 
Notes on Rutaceae—IV. Bull. Torrey Club 37: 437, 
438. 5 O 1910. 
CONFERENCE NOTES. 
At the regular conference meeting held in the library on Jan- 
uary 4, Mr. B. O. Dodge, of Columbia University, gave a review 
of his recent work on the Ascobolaceae, a family of cup-fungi. 
The family includes ten genera and about two hundred species 
in the whole world. e cup-fungi belong to the ascomycetes 
(sac-fungi) and are characterized by having their spores borne 
in sacs in the ratio: 2~4-8-16-32-64, etc., 8 being the most 
common number. One of the chief characters of the family 
Ascobolaceae is that the spore-sacs protrude far beyond the 
fruiting surface, giving rise to the old idea that the spore-sacs 
themselves were thrown out at maturity. It has, however, been 
shown that this is not the case, but the spores are thrown out 
from the sacs in the same way that shot are fired from a gun 
and the emptysacs retract and disappear. The genera of the 
family are much better defined that those of some other families 
of cup-fungi. Several of the genera possess spores which assume 
at maturity the most beautiful violet and purple colors finally 
becoming brown with age. In addition to the color the spores 
in many of the species of the typical genus (A scebolis) are sculp- 
tured in various ways, the sculpturing taking the form of a net- 
work, of longitudinal striations or simple tubercular roughenings. 
Many of the plants of this group are so minute that they are 
studied with difficulty and for this reason the state lists of the 
species of this family are usually small. Nineteen were reported 
by Mr. Seaver from Iowa in his recent paper on Iowa Discomy- 
cetes, this being the largest state list seen. 
