FUNGI. 341 
great abundance. The Chionyphe is developed 
on the snow in clear weather, when the sun has 
power enough to melt the upper crust, without 
the existence of a general thaw ; and in all pro- 
bability springs from the droppings or the urine of 
animals decomposed in the snow. It spreads over 
the surface of the snow in shining fleecy patches, 
dotted with red or green particles. When the 
snow melts, it is left behind upon the underlying 
a9 
tp, 
Fic. 35.—NYCTALIS ASTEROPHORA GROWING PARASITICALLY ON DEAD 
RUSSULA NIGRICANS. 
(x) Section, natural size. (z) Stellate spore, highly magnified. 
grass in the form of a cobweb stratum, which in a 
few days disappears. Another species of snow- 
mould discovered in Germany, and described by 
Professor Unger, under the significant name of 
Lanosa nivalis, unlike the former, grows under- 
neath the snow ; and in certain seasons, especially 
when a deep snow sets in without any previous 
frost, it is extremely destructive to the grass upon 
