A new Family of the Basidiomycetes. — Xylophagaceae. 

 This family is based on Xylophagus Link, Berl. Mag. 3 : 38. 

 1809 (Merulius Hall.) and allied genera formerly included in the 

 Polyporaceae. Its distinguishing character is a gelatinous and 

 at the same time porous hymenium. Its genera may be grouped 

 under three subfamilies : The Favolaschieae, including plants 

 wholly gelatinous both in context and hymenium, the Xylo- 

 phageae, in which the context varies from semi-gelatinous to 

 firm or fibrous and the Gloeoporeae, with firm fibrous context 

 and a hymenium of deep cohering tubes instead of shallow reticu- 

 lations. This last group approaches the Polyporaceae, but differs 

 by reason of its separable gelatinous hymenium. The types of 

 the three subfamilies mentioned above are Favolascliia Pat., 

 Xylopliagits Link and Gloeoporus Mont. 



William Alphonso Murrill. 



New York City. 



A new Oak. — Quercus Rydbergiana. A small shrub about 

 1 m. high : bark of young branches grayish -brown, puberu- 

 lent, that of the older branches and trunks gray; bud-scales 

 bright ferruginous, slightly puberulent:' petioles 3—5 mm. long, 

 densely puberulent ; leaf-blades rather long and narrow, but 

 small, the larger about 36 mm. long and 15 mm. broad, most 

 smaller, not over 25 mm. long, firm, lobed about half-way to 

 midrib, lobes obliquely triangular, with rounded margins and 

 a mucronate tip, upper surface pale bluish-green, with rather 

 abundant pale yellow stellate pubescence, lower surface pale 

 yellowish-green, with abundant yellowish stellate pubescence ; 

 strongly veined but hardly reticulate ; fruits solitary ; cup 

 hemispheric, covering about one third of the acorn, 8 mm. 

 broad ; scales with produced blunt reddish tips, the lower 

 scales corky-thickened on the back ; acorn barrel-shaped, rather 

 obtuse but not apically depressed, about 10 mm. long, light 

 brown. 



Hab. — Common at Las Vegas Hot Springs, New Mexico, alt. 

 prox. 7000 feet. It is allied to Quercus Fendleri, but is easily 

 distinguished by the smaller leaves with less pointed lobes. Las 

 Vegas Hot Springs is a good locality for oaks ; I collected there 

 also Q. Novo-Mcxicana (A. DC.) Ryd., Q. nitescens Ryd., Q. 

 Gambelii Nutt., Q. Fendleri Liebm., Q. Emoryi Torr., and Q. 



