( 'PERFECT CAPSULAR FUNGI— SPHAEROPSIDEAE 261 



rophores." The primary families would depend for their 

 binctive characters upon the nature of the perithecium. 

 e first and largest is the Sphaerioideae, in which the 

 ithecia are membranaceous, coriaceous, or subcarbonaceous, 

 lically subglobose, and closed; thus analogous to the old 

 ius Sphaeria. The second family, Nectrioideae, with the 

 ithecia similar in form, but fleshy or waxy, and usually 

 ghtly coloured, analogous to the old genus Nectria, or the 

 re recent family Hypocreaceae. Then the third family, the 

 otostromaceae, has the perithecium more or less dimidiate, 

 1 astomous, or with a longitudinal fissure, and black, corre- 

 mding in some respects to Hysteriaceae. Finally, the fourth 

 lily is Excipuloxeae, with the perithecium cup -shaped, or 

 ;ellate, at first spherical, then broadly open, and making the 

 irest approach to analogy with the Discomycetes. Each of 

 ise families we must therefore analyse a little more in detail, 

 iring in mind their distinctive family features. 



The Sjphaerioideae are therefore the Sphaeriaceous, or 

 haeria-like, Sphaeropsideae, with blackish closed perithecia ; 

 1 although we should have preferred grouping them in a 

 lilar manner to our subfamilies of the Sphaeriaceae, we will 

 t content with the arrangement proposed in the Sylloge, 

 ich will be the one generally adopted for some time to come, 

 course this method is an artificial one, to a great extent, 

 ng based upon the character of the sporules. The Hyalo- 

 <rae is again the largest section, including all the genera 

 ;h continuous hyaline sporules ; those in which the peri- 

 ;cia are simple or distinct forming one subsection, and 

 >se in which the perithecia are composite or caespitose 

 ming another. Amongst the simple species the larger 

 mber have the perithecia naked or smooth, and of these one 

 ius, Fhyllosticta, is often parasitic, growing upon leaves, the 

 pressed and innate perithecia being grouped on discoloured 

 its ; the remaining genera have the species not seated on 

 inite spots, and of these three are very similar to each other ; 

 it is to say, Phoma, with the perithecia (Fig. 121) covered 



the cuticle ; Aposphaeria, with the perithecia exposed, or 

 >erficial, mostly on dead wood ; and Dendrophoma, which in all 

 ngs else resemble Phoma except that the sporophores are 



