TYMPANIS. 129 



Dating from a common stroma, at first closed then ex- 

 panding and exposing tlie somewiiat depressed disc, which is 

 more or less distinctly marginate ; disc circular or irregular 

 from mutual pressure, entirely black, the margin at first 

 powdered with a very little white bloom, which disappears 

 early, not exceeding ^ mm. across, almost sessile or sub- 

 stipitate or turbinate ; excipulum rather corky, composed of 

 very compactly interwoven brown hyphae; asci cylindric- 

 clavate, apex rounded, wall thick, spores innumerable, very 

 minute, continuous, 1-2 x ' 5 /t, with a yellow tinge in the 

 mass ; paraphyses numerous, hyaline, about 1 • 5 /a thick, 

 apex not thickened ; hypothecium brown. 



On living bark of birch and poplar. 



Specimen in Fries' Scler. Succ, n. 12 ; accepted as type. 



Spermogonia in minute, black, conical conceptacles, usually 

 mixed with the ascophores ; spermatia very minute, cylin- 

 drical, 2h X i /J., hyaline, continuous. 



The present as defined above is the species of Fries, and 

 issued by him in his Scler. Suec, n. 12 ; Scler. Suec, 

 n. 171, is also the same species. In some of the asci when 

 young, 8 spores are seen, as figured by Phillips in Brit. Disc, 

 pi. xi. fig. 67. The constant features of the present species 

 are, the minute, densely crowded, black ascophores, with only 

 a minute sprinkling of white bloom, or naked from the first, 

 at all events very soon naked ; parajihyses entirely colour- 

 less, not thickened at the tips. 



Var. mali, Eehm, Ascom., n. 722. 



Ascophores 4-10 seated on a common stroma, disc black, 

 |— 1 • 5 mm. across, the prominent margin remaining perma- 

 nently powdered with whitish bloom ; paraphyses slender, 

 tips thickened up to 5 /x, brownish. 



Tympanis conspersa, Phil., Brit. Disc, p. 354; pi. xi. fig. 67; 

 Eehm, Krypt.-Flora, Disc, p. 264; Sacc, Syll., n. 2399. 



Peziza aucupariae, Pers., Myc. Eur., p. 327. 



Tympanis aucupariae, Wallr., Flor. Cr. Germ., ii. p. 427 ; 

 Phil., Brit. Disc, p. 354 ; Sacc, Syll., viii. n. 2400. 



On bark of apple, hawthorn, mountain ash, and other 

 rosaceous plants. Eehm says this species also occurs on 

 Populus iremula in Germany. 



'This variety is also represented in Eab.-Wint., Fung. Eur., 

 n. 3366. 



VOL. IV. K 



