1028 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



Discomycetes ; and here again bo finds, whenever tho nutrient fluid is 

 nearly exhausted, asci springing directly from tho hyphee. Conidia 

 wero also observed at the periphery of the groups of asci, or 

 sometimes replacing them, indicating that they are abortive asci. In 

 Chsetomium crispatum he finds tho perithecia and sclerotia to have tho 

 same origin ; sclerotia may, in fact, in certain cases, take tho place of 

 perithecia. 



Zukal recommends tho following modo of culture for theso 

 Ascomycetes. The reticulate spores of Ascodesmis wero made to 

 germinate in a decoction of plums, into which was introduced a small 

 quantity of dog's excrements ; this insured the production of asci. 

 In the caso of Chsetomium tho same result was obtained by tho 

 addition of very thin slices of potato. 



Rlchonia, a new genus of Pyrenomycetes.* — M. E. Boudier 

 describes under this name a new hypogseous genus of Perisporiacese, 

 near to Zopfia : — Perithecia semper repleta, firma, sparsa, superficialia, 

 carbonacea, astoma, supra rotundata, subtus depressa, intus grumosa. 

 Theca3 clavatae, crassae, 2-6-spora3, mox resolutae. Sporae majores, 

 didymse, loculis rotundatis obtusre, ad septam constrictae, primo laeves, 

 hyalinae, guttulataa, dein filamentosae, marcescentes olivascentes, 

 denique maximae, atcrrimae, rugulosae, et difformes. Paraphyses 

 numerosae, tenues, ramosissimae et intricatfe, thecas et sporas 

 circumdantes. The only species, B. variospora, is parasitic on the 

 roots of asparagus. 



M. Boudier also describes the following new species : — Nectria 

 (Lasionectria) Mercurialis, on dry stems of Mercurialis perennis ; 

 Ophionectria Briar di, on rotten wood, old Sphaeriaceaa, &c, Torubiella 

 (Cordicipitis) aranicida, on dead spiders. 



Cucurbitaria Laburni on Cytisus Laburnum.f — The structure 

 and biology of this parasite on the laburnum are described at length 

 by Freiherr v. Tubeuf. It is found chiefly on the dead boughs, 

 apparently not attacking those that are green and healthy. The 

 perithecia have a thick pseudo-parenchymatous dark peridium, which 

 is warty on the outside, and has a distinctly depressed opening ; it is 

 about 523 jx long by 407 wide. The nucleus is composed of long, 

 stout, often branched paraphyses, between the long cylindrical asci 

 which are always rounded at the end, and are about 121 /x long by 

 21 /a broad. Each ascus contains normally 8 spores, but these spores 

 may divide further or become changed into groups of spores or 

 sporidesmia ; these sporidesmia are 28-36 p. long by II wide. The 

 pyenidia are of two kinds, larger and smaller ; the gonidia contained 

 in them differing also in size and colour. 



The ejection of the ascospores takes place in a peculiar way. The 

 ascus consists of a double membrane, of which the inner portion is 

 much more elastic than the outer ; these inclose the protoplasmic sac 



* Kev. Mycol., 1885 (1 pi.). See Bull. Soc. Bot. France, xxxiii. (1886) Rev. 

 Bibl., p. 62. 



+ Bot. Centralbl., xxvi. (1886) pp. 229-33, 278-81, 310-3, 352-7 ; xxvii. (1886) 

 pp. 23-7, 74-7, 123-8, 173-9 (2 pis.). 



