REPORT OF THE STATE BOTANIST I917 91 



difficult to prove their connection with the basidia; indeed mature 

 spores attached to the basidia were not seen. But a large number 

 of basidia have small subglobose, immature spores on sterigmata 

 and undoubtedly the larger spores of the same general shape belong 

 to the fungus. Moreover, in another collection of the same species 

 made at Croghan, N. Y., by Peck, mature spores are found on 

 basidia of the usual type. It was at first suspected that the spores 

 of this species would be allantoid, as are those of closely related 

 plants. There are no cystidia in the hymenium (plate 10, figure 4). 

 The trama and subiculum are made up of very compact hyphae that 

 are colorless, and 2.5 to 4 ^ in diameter. Of these some are 

 encrusted and some smooth, the latter type occurring in greater 

 numbers in the growing margin (plate 10, figure 3). Cross walls 

 are present but not conspicuous and their rarity suggests that many 

 are invisible by the methods used for their detection. Clamp con- 

 nections are present but not at all common. Both clamp connec- 

 tions and cross walls are more or less obscured in the encrusted 

 hyphae. Branches are infrequently seen. 



The species is related to Poria laetifica and in fresh 

 condition this resemblance must be considerably heightened. Both 

 are of the same general color when fresh, and both become red 

 where bruised and on drying. P. mutans is of harder con- 

 sistency when dry and has very different spores. The colors on 

 drying are quite distinct — so much so that the species can easily 

 be separated on that character provided it proves to be constant 

 over a wide range of specimens. 



Redescription. Effused for several centimeters, annual, appar- 

 ently separable, with an abrupt sterile, margin when young, later 

 the margin sometimes entirely fertile, drying hard and firm; subi- 

 culum present, distinct, rarely as much as 2 mm thick and usually 

 much thinner; tubes 1 to 5 mm long, their mouths buff yellow or 

 cream yellow (fide Peck) when fresh, red where bruised, pinkish 

 cinnamon to tawny or russet in herbarium specimens, angular, 

 thin-walled, entire, averaging 3 to 4 to a millimeter; spores ellip- 

 soidal or nearly globose, sometimes ovoid, hyaline, 3.5 to 5 x 2.5 to 

 3.5 fi; cystidia none; tramal and subiculum hyphae very compact, 

 hyaline, many encrusted with rather large crystals, some entirely 

 unencrusted, very sparingly branched, 2.5 to 4 /i in diameter; cross 

 walls not frequently seen ; clamp connections present but rather 

 rare 



