66 



thick. Head oblong, obtuse or attenuated above, often hollow, rough- 

 ened by the slightly projecting, densely cro-wded perithecia, dark 

 rufous, about 2 cm. long and 6-8 mm. thick. Stem olivaceous, becom- 

 ing black, sending out from its base, yellow, fibrous rootlets which 

 embrace the matrix and penetrate the soil for 2 or 3 inches around. 

 Asci cylindrical, 250-300x7-9 [i, 8-spored. Sporidia crowded, fili- 

 form, 150-180x7-9 [1, multiseptate, at length breaking up into sub- 

 ellipsoid, yellowish-hyaline joints 3-4 x 2-3 jr, paraphyses very slender. 

 Parasitic on Elaphomyces granulatus and JE. niui-icatus, Massa- 

 chuetts (Farlow), New Jersey (Ellis), Pennsylvania (Everhart). 



C. capit^ta, (Holmsk.) 



Clavaria capitaia^ Holmsk. Otia, 1. 1, p. 38, 

 Sphizria agariciformis. Bolt. Fungi of Halifax, III, p. 6r. 

 Sphczria capitata, Pers. Comnient. p. 145, Pers. Myc. Eur. tab. 10, figs. 1-4. 

 Cordtceps capitatus, Lk. Hndbk. Ill, p. 347. 

 Torrubia capitata^ Tul. Sel. Carp. HI, p. 22. 

 Cordyceps capitata, Sacc. Syll. 5o39,.Cke. Syn. 49. 

 Hxsicc. Rav. Fung. Car. V, 48. — Sydow M. March. 279. 



Stromata cespitose or solitary, simple, 3-8 cm. high. Club, or 

 head ovoid-sphseroid, roughened by the slightly prominent, ovoid, 

 densely crowded perithecia, liver-color or reddish-yellow, about 1 cm. 

 thick. Stipe equal, glabrous, citron-color, or yellow, at length fibrose- 

 strigose and yellowish-black, 3-4 mm. thick. Asci cylindrical, very 

 long, 16 // thick. Sporidia filiform, very long, at length breaking up 

 into fusoid-elongated, or subbacillary joints, greenish-yellow and 25- 

 40 X 5-6 fi. 



Parasitic on Scleroderma, Carolina (Ravenel), and on some tuber- 

 aceous fungus, Florida (Calkins). 



C. Species imperfectly hnown. 



In Curtis' Catalogue, pp. 138 and 139, two other species are men- 

 tioned, but not described: 



Cordyceps gryllotalpce, M. A. C, on buried sand moles. 

 Cordyceps isarioides, M. A. C, on dead moths. 



C. MeloMiitha?, Tul. 



Torrubia MdolonthtB, Tul. Sel. Carp. Ill, p. 12. 

 Cordyceps Melolontha, Sacc. Syll. 5044, Cke. Syn. 50. 



A figure is given in Silliman's Journ. VIII (1824), tab. IV, rep- 

 resenting the general appearance of the fungus found in Pennsj'lvania, 

 growing from the cervical portion of buried larvte of the "i\lay bug" 

 (Melolontha), but theii-e are no notes of the asci and sporidia. 



