16 



Sydney, in the early autumn. The largest of these was 

 roughly spherical, 6x5 in., and weighed 6 lb. 12 oz. The 

 outer-surface was of a reddish-clay colour, irregularly fur- 

 rowed and finely reticulated. On section there was an outer 

 hard reddish crust, \ in. thick in places. Inside this the 

 sclerotium consisted of a greyish mycelial mass showing 

 irregular whitish strands in places. Attempts were made to 

 get the sporophores to develop, but a whitish mould-like 

 growth alone appeared. 



84. Sclerotia like worm-castings. Specimens of these are 

 in the Botanical Department at the University of Adelaide 

 from W. H. Jackson, Kobe, South Australia, September, 

 1912, and A. Trezize, Kobe; and others in the South Aus- 

 tralian Museum from Lake Albert (Mus., No. 186). These 

 sclerotia are clay-brown in colour, up to 3 in. long and \ in. 

 thick, or 2x1 in., and are irregularly ringed and rugose, 

 very closely resembling earthworm casts. The constrictions 

 sometimes cut deeply in, so as to leave adjacent portions 

 .attached by a quite narrow neck. The substance is hard, 

 dense, and somewhat translucent white. 



85. Irregularly round sclerotia, perhaps forms of No. 84. 

 In the Herbarium of the University of Adelaide from S. H. 

 McMillan, Chemist, Mount Gambier, September, 1912. 

 § in. in diameter, somewhat flattened spheroid in 

 shape; slightly rugose, clay coloured, weathering to show a 

 greyish surface. On section hard, the colour of semi- 

 translucent quartz. 



86. In the South Australian Museum, in the section 

 devoted to the food of aboriginals, with a label, "Fungus 

 grown on the ground. Eaten by the blacks, Central Aus- 

 tralia. Presented by Mr. E. J. Warman" (Mus., No. 185). 

 This sclerotium appears different from any of the others we 

 have seen, but is considerably decayed. It is a somewhat 

 pear-shaped light mycelial mass, splitting and irregularly 

 alveolate, apparently composed of mycelium and reddish 

 sand. 



POLYPORES WITH FALSE SCLEROTIA. 



87. Polyporus tumulosus, Cooke: Grevillea, xvii., p. 55 

 (1899); Handb. Austr. Fungi, No. 586; Baker: Proc. Linn. 

 Soc. N.S. Wales, xxii., p. 238 (1897); Cheel : ibid, xxxviii., 

 p. 171 (1913); Lloyd: Synopsis Sect. Ovinus of Polyporus, 

 p. 86 (1911), and Synopsis of Stipitate Polyporoids, pp. 67 

 and 168 (1912). 



The following description is given in Cooke's Handbook : 

 — "Pileus fleshy (3-4 in. diameter), firm, convex, clad with 

 darker innate scales, margin at first incurved; flesh white; 



