189 



Iii his "Sylloge", Saccarclo 3 changed the specific name of the fungus to 

 I'eekii. His nomenclature is as follows : 

 "Vermicularia PecMi Sacc. 



V. Concmtrica Peck, 29th Ann. Rep. N. Y. State Mus. Nat. Hist. 47-48, 

 1878. (Not Lev.. Ann. Hoc. Nat. 66. 1845.) 



"1 . PecMi var. Viola) rotund if olio- Sacc." 



Through the kindness of Dr. H. 1). House, State Botanist of New York. 

 I was able to secure authentic specimens, collected and determined by I >r. 

 Peck subsequent to bis description of tbe fungus. These specimens were 

 from Trillium erythrocarpum Michx. (T. unduDatum Willd.) and from 

 Viola rotundifolia. A careful examination of these specimens, togeth- 

 er with some recently collected material from Dr. House, was made. Some 

 of the spots were embedded in paraffin, sectioned and stained. From these 

 examinations it was concluded that the fungus occurring on Viola rotundi- 

 folia was not a Vermicularia but was identical with the Oolletotrichum 

 occurring on V. cucullata. The spore measurements and general charac- 

 ters of the acervulus, seta 1 and conidiophores of the fungus on Trillium 

 were also identical but, as stated by Dr. Peek, the acervuli of the former 

 occur in definite concentric circles in tbe spot, while in the latter no such 

 arrangement is noticeable. Whether or not the species on Viola cucullata 

 is identical with the one on Trillium can only be determined by cross- 

 inoculation. Up to the present time the author bas not had an oppor- 

 tunity to complete his investigations along this line. It would be unusual, 

 however, to have a fungus of this type parasitic on hosts so widely sepa- 

 rated as Trillium and Viola. The identity of tbe fungi on the two violet 

 species can hardly lie questioned. The nomenclature of the fungus on 

 Viola rotundifolia is so awkward and incorrect that a change should be 

 made. However, this is not advisable until the relationship to the fungus 

 occurring on Trillium is definitely settled. 



Life History of the Fungus. — Tbe field observations of this fungus 

 have been limited to a single year. The disease appears at a very early 

 period in the spring on leaves that have evidently lived over winter. The 

 earliest collections were made in the first week in April before the plants 

 had time to develop leaves. It is probable therefore that the fungus lives 

 over winter on the old leaves of the plant, although it has not been ob- 

 served during the winter months. 



('1 Saccardo, P., Sylloge Fungorun;. 3: 232. 1884. 



