THE FUNGI OF GUERNSEY. 



BY MR. E. D. MARQUAND, EX-PRESIDENT. 



The only section of the Guernsey flora of which no record 

 has yet been published is the one which comprises the enor- 

 mous tribe of Fungi. During the last ten years the indigenous 

 vegetation of the island has been carefully studied, and in the 

 Transactions of this Society may be seen localised lists, 

 complete as far as possible, of the Flowering Plants, Ferns, 

 Mosses, Hepatica3, Lichens and Algae. But no attempt has 

 hitherto been made to grapple with that mighty host of 

 heterogeneous plants classed by science under the name of 

 Fungi, — a term which has no exact English equivalent, although 

 the larger and more conspicuous members of the group are 

 well known to everybody under the name of Mushrooms and 

 Toadstools ; while some of the microscopic forms are even 

 more familiar as ubiquitous moulds and mildews. But 

 between these two extremes, so to speak, there exists a vast 

 multitude of parasitic and saprophytic plants, entirely un- 

 known to the majority of people. 



Through the kindness of friends in Guernsey who readily 

 responded to my appeal for aid in collecting specimens, I am 

 enabled to-day to fill up the gap in the recorded flora, by 

 laying before you a very fine list of the Fungi of the island, 

 comprising more than four hundred and fifty species. As to 

 the accuracy of this list it is sufficient to state that every 

 specimen has been submitted to, and identified by, one of the 

 most experienced of living mycologists, Mr. George Massee, 

 F.L.S., of the Royal Herbarium, Kew, to whom I am deeply 

 grateful for his never-failing readiness to examine the large 

 parcels of fresh specimens I brought to him, often amidst 

 much pressure of official work. 



I desire likewise to return my sincere thanks to the ladies 

 and gentlemen who have co-operated in the necessary labour 



