— 210 — 



spores are colourless, more or less spirally coiled, sausage-shaped 

 (Fig. h), 3 — 5 fi broad : they usually germinate immediately after 

 liberation (Fig. i), sending out a wedge-shaped, sterigma-like 

 germinal hypha, which forms at the end a conidium of form similar 

 to the spore, and approximately of the same size, or less. This 

 germinating thread is often provided with an awl-shaped or cone- 

 shaped side branch, and in that case, two conidia are probably 

 formed. 



Ordrup Moor, Zealand, on damp withered leaves of beech. 

 October, 1893. 



The systematic position of Tulasnella has been much discussed. 

 Schroeter (1889) placed the family in an appendix to the Tremel- 

 laceæ: Johan-Olsen (1889) placed it among the Tomentelleæ, 

 that is to say, the Autobasidiomycetes. Patouillard (1888) 

 regarded what I have here called basidia, not as the real basidia, 

 but as basidia-bearers : the globular or ovate transition forms to 

 what I have called sterigmata, should, on this view, be the real 

 basidia, which later produce sterigmata with spores. The four 

 basidia from a basidia-bearer should so correspond to the four 

 cells in the ordinary Tremellineae basidium. 



Quite another interpretation is given by Juel (1897). Juel 

 agrees with Schroeter and Johan-Olsen in regarding what I 

 also call basidia, as true basidia: but, on the other hand, Juel 

 regards the formations which I call sterigmata and spores, respect- 

 ively as spores with promycelia, and conidia. The stage represented 

 in Fig. e is, according to Juel, a basidium with four sessile spores. 

 These are distinguished by the fact that they do not generally fall 

 off, but germinate directly on the basidium, forming a short pro- 

 mycelium, — that is to say, the upper, narrow part of the sterigma 

 in my description — at the end of which a conidium is formed. 

 It is evident that, if that description is correct, Tulasnella represents 

 a separate, very characteristic type within the Autobasidiomycetes. 

 Juel placed Tulasnella therefore, with the related genus Muciporus 

 Juel 1 ), in a group by themselves, Tulasnellaceæ, related to and 

 between Dacryomycetes and Hymenomycetes, which place it 

 occupies also in Kolderup Rosenvinge's »Sporeplanter« (1913), 

 where it is given as the Order Tulasnellales, coordinate with the 

 Dacryomycetales, Hymenomycetes, and Gasteromycetes. Similarly 



') The genus Muciporus was later revoked by Juel himself, and its spe- 

 cies referred to Tulasnella (Juel, 1914). 



