202 



THE STRUCTURE OF POLYPORUS GLOMERATUS 



PECK* 



By L. O. Overholts 



Scarcely a single species of our native pore fungi has received 

 less recognition than has Polyporus glomeratus Peck. On the 

 other hand no plant is more worthy of specific rank than this 

 same P. glomeratus. The species was described by Peckf in 1873 

 from specimens collected in New York state. Portions of the 

 type specimens may still be seen at Albany and have been exam- 

 ined by the writer. 



For many years after its publication the species remained un- 

 known to other American mycologists. In 1885 Morgan J re- 

 ported a species from the Miami Valley under the name P. 

 radiatus. While that species probably occurs in Ohio Mr. C. G. 

 Lloyd has stated§ that "he (Morgan) evidently told me that this 

 (reference) was an error for Polyporus glomeratus, for I recorded 

 it in pencil in my copy of his book . . . ." The specimens on 

 which the record was based are preserved in the Lloyd Museum, 

 but have not been examined by the writer. It may be safely 

 asserted, however, that the name never reappeared in the litera- 

 ture on American mycology until in 1908. In that year Mur- 

 rill|| listed it as a synonym of Polyporus radiatus (as Inonotus 

 radiatus). This disposition of the name was concurred in by 

 Lloyd until 1914. In that year, while examining the co-types of 

 P. glomeratus, he discovered that the internal structure of the 

 plant is entirely different from that of P. radiatus, and is almost 

 unique among the pore fungi. Specimens were subsequently 

 collected by Dr. C. H. Kauffman in Michigan. As far as known 

 this was the third collection of the species to be made in this 

 country. 



Lloyd in iQisH called attention to the internal structure of the 



* Contribution from the Departmennt of Botany-, the Pennsylvania State 

 College, No. 12. 



t Ann. Rep. N. Y. State Mus. 24: 78. 1S73. 



X Jour. Cine. Soc. Nat. Hist. 6: 1885. 



§ Letter No. 58, note 292, 1915. 



II North American Flora 9: 90, 1908. 



If Letter No. 54, note 204, 1915. 



