Fitzpatrick : Monograph of Coryneliaceae 209 



inally constituted it contained only two species, Corynelia uberata 

 Fries and Tripospora Cookei (Cooke) Saccardo. The family 

 diagnosis reads: " Perithecia coriacea, atra, lageniformia, ostiolo 

 elongato, apice perforate), dein late infundibulif or miter expanso." 

 In 1895 Saccardo (45) included in the family the genus Cory- 

 neliella represented by the single species C. ■ consimilis Hariot & 

 Karsten. 



Lindau (28) in his treatment of the Sphaeriales includes in the 

 Coryneliaceae the three genera Corynelia, Coryneliella, and Tripo- 

 spora, and states that each is monotypic. Subsequently, Sac- 

 cardo (45) has recorded the discovery and description of several 

 additional species of Corynelia. Lindau regards the family as 

 closely related to the Cucurbitariaceae, and- emphasizes the fact 

 that the two are alike in having the perithecia seated on a stroma. 

 In his discussion of the Coryneliaceae, he states that the peri- 

 thecium is flask-shaped with a long neck dilated at the apex and 

 provided with a broad funnel-shaped mouth. The flask-shaped 

 character of the perithecium is used by him to separate the Cory- 

 neliaceae from the Cucurbitariaceae, the perithecium in the latter 

 family being more or less definitely globose. 



It will be noted that both Saccardo and Lindau describe the 

 perithecium as ostiolate, and as typical, therefore, of the Sphaeri- 

 ales. Their statements in this connection are evidently based 

 largely on the observations of Winter (55) on Corynelia uberata 

 and Tripospora tripos. Cooke (8), however, from the examina- 

 tion of material of Corynelia uberata was led to place the genus 

 Corynelia hi the Perisporiaceae between Capnodium and Anten- 

 naria, and states that the perithecium is " wholly closed, hence 

 without a mouth and irregularly split." 



The writer's own observations show that the Coryneliaceae 

 lack the typical ostiolum present in the Sphaeriales, and he sees 

 no reason for regarding the group as closely related to the Cucur- 

 bitariaceae. The perithecium on the other hand cannot be cor- 

 rectly described as lacking a mouth or as irregularly split. In 1 

 all the known species of the perithecium in the young condition is 

 wholly closed, but at maturity it ruptures at the apex in a definite 

 manner. In certain of the species, which the writer believes to 



