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THAXTER. — MONOGRAPH OF THE LABOULBENIACE.E. 



press his great obligations to those who have already aided him in this manner, and to Mr. Charles 

 Bullard in particular, who is one of the few persons that has recognized these parasites on their hosts, 

 and to whom we owe the discovery of several of the most interesting genera and species. To Pro- 

 fessor H. M. Richards he is indebted for a small lot of beetles from Java on which several interesting 

 forms were found; to Prof. C. V. Piper for certain flies and beetles collected in Washington; to Dr. 

 W. Horn of Berlin for the communication of specimens of Telracha from Ecuador infested by La- 

 bmilbcnia variabilis; to Dr. A. F. Blakeslee for a small collection of insects from Venezuela; to Dr. 

 Dahl of the Berlin Museum for calling his attention to the occurrence of these parasites on the dip- 

 terous insects collected by him near New Guinea; to Mr. Samuel Henshaw for the determination of 

 hosts and for many other favors; to Mr. Coquillett for his kindness in determining Diptera; to Dr. 

 David Sharp for the privilege of examining his private collections and for many kindnesses; to Pro- 

 fessor Poulton of Oxford and to the gentlemen in charge of the European collections above men- 

 tioned, and to the staffs of the several laboratories visited, for similar favors and courtesies. He 

 is also greatly indebted to several other persons whose generous assistance has made the present publica- 

 tion possible. 



Harvard University, January, 1908. 



In the first part of the present series, which the writer hopes to continue by the addition of further 

 numbers, an account was given of the general history, literature, morphology etc. of the Laboulbeniaceae, 

 or Laboulbeniales, as, in conformity with modern usage, they may be conveniently designated, and to 

 this paper reference should be made for a comprehensive review of the subject. In the present connec- 

 tion it is the purpose of the writer, before proceeding to a systematic consideration of the species ami 

 genera herewith illustrated, to give a brief review, only, of the literature which has appeared since 1895, 

 and to make only such comments on the morphology, development, etc. as may seem necessary in view 

 of the new data now available. 



References to the Laboulbeniales have, within the last decade, become more frequent in the gen- 

 eral literature of Mycology and in botanical texts, than was formerly the case, and in the numerous 

 discussions which have appeared, dealing with the origin of the Ascomycetes and higher fungi, and 

 the vexed question of their sexuality, one finds as a rule, at least a perfunctory reference to them. 

 Papers, however, which advance our knowledge of them in any respect have not been very numerous, 

 as the following list will show. 



F. Cavara, Malpighia, Vol. XIII, p. 173, 1899, with plate, describes a new genus, Rickia, growing 

 on ants in Europe, the single species, R. W assmanni, having been subsequently distributed in Rehm, 

 Ascomyceten No. 1451. The species is described at some length and numerous figures are given. 

 This author, misled by the close resemblance which the general appearance of the compound anthe- 

 ridia of Rickia bear to those of the ordinary simple type, places the genus in the "Laboulbeniaceae" 

 as limited in the appended Key to the Genera. In discussing other general matters connected with 

 the group, it is further suggested that these plants are not in reality parasites, but live saprophytically, 



