Botany. 739 
two of Geaster (the new species described by Morgan in Nov. Am. 
Narv.), and two of Lycoperdon. The remaining species are for 
the most part parasitic microfungi. 
Century X XI. contains nine species of Agaricus, six of Clava- 
ria, fourteen of Peziza, besides single species of many genera of 
the larger fungi. The microfungi are also represented by man 
genera, At the close of the volume, Nos. 2085 to 2100 inclusive 
are species of Myxomycetes, determined by Dr. Rex and Harold 
Wingate. The species are (2085) Physarum cinereum Batsch, 
2086) P. contextum Pers., (2087) Tilmadoche columbina Berk., 
2088) Stemonites morgani Pk., (2089) Didymium eximium Pk., 
(2090) D. fuckelianum Rfski., (2091) D. clavus A. and S., (2092) 
Siphoptychium casparyi Rfski., (2093) Chondrioderma testaceum 
Schrod., (2094) Comatriche gracilis Wingate, (2095) Cribraria 
intricata Schrod., (2096) Tubulina cylindrica Bull., (2097) Trichia 
fragilis Low., forma simplex ; (2098) T. fragilis Low, forma botry- 
tis; (2099) T. varia Pers., (2100) T. scabra Rfski. 
Mr. W. C. Stevenson, Jr., of Philadelphia, has agai nearned the 
thanks of botanists by making an Index of Habitats for Centuri 
I. to XX. of the North American Fungi.— Charles E. Bessey. 
_ ALLEN’s CHARACEÆ OF AMERICA.!—As its title indicates, this 
is the first part of what it is hoped will eventually be a complete 
monograph of the Characes of America. In his introduction the 
author says that “the demand for information concerning these 
plants is so pressing that it is thought but to issue the first part ot 
the work now, to be followed in a year or two by the second part, 
which will contain descriptions of the species now known to inhabit 
American waters.” 
The part before us contains (1) an Introduction, mainly devoted to 
collection, preservation, habitat, etc., (2) a chapter principally con- 
sisting of structural details, with a brief historical statement. In 
this, the term sporophydium is introduced for the spore-fruit or spo- 
rocarp. We prefer the term sporocarp, and regret that our author 
did not adopt it rather than the other. The term proposed pos- 
Sesses, of course, the advantage of being non-committal as to homol- 
ogies, but to the present writer it would appear entirely safe to adopt 
so fitting a term as sporocarp, in place of the vague one of sporo- 
Phydium (spora and phudion, diminutive of phu, a growth; the 
term thus signifies a spore growthlet, i.e., a little spore-growth). 
Following this is (3) a chapter entitled Classification and Synopsis. 
' The Characeœ of America, Part I. Containing the Introduction, 
Morphology, and Classification. By Timothy ield Allen, M i 
Member of the Buffalo Academy of Natural Baiano: of the Portlan 
Y iety of Natural History, ete. With fifty-five illustrations. New 
ork, No. 10 East Thirty-sixth street. 1888. 8vo. 64 pp 
