Fitzpatrick: Monograph of Coryneliaceae 211 



are, however, certainly closely v related to Sorica maxima, and 

 this species in turn possesses so many characters in common with 

 Corynelia fructicola that it cannot easily be excluded from the 

 Coryneliaceae. The genera Sorica and Caliciopsis may perhaps 

 be regarded as transition forms between the Perisporiaceae and 

 the Coryneliaceae, but their possession of an erumpent stroma 

 and the definite apical dehiscence of the perithecium makes neces- 

 sary their inclusion in the Coryneliaceae as delimited in this 

 monograph. The characters of their asci and spores indicate, 

 moreover, a close relationship with the species of Corynelia. 



The Perisporiales are separated from the Sphaeriales chiefly 

 on the basis of the difference in the method of dehiscence of the 

 perithecium. Lindau (28) states that in the Sphaeriales the 

 perithecium is provided with a definite ostiolum, while in the 

 Perisporiales there is developed either a more or less globose, 

 cleistocarp perithecium completely inclosing the asci and at 

 maturity irregularly dehiscent, usually through disintegration 

 (Erysiphaceae, Perisporiaceae), or a shield-shaped, imperfectly 

 developed perithecium in some species dehiscent at the center by 

 a circular pore (Mierothyriaceae) . In some species of the 

 Perisporiaceae, however, the perithecium dehisces more or less 

 definitely at the apex either by a small number of radial splits 

 forming prominent lobes or by the method of fimbriate-laceration 

 characteristic of Caliciopsis, Sorica, Tripospora, and Corynelia 

 fructicola. On the other hand a few species of the Chaetomi- 

 aceae and Sordariaceae of the Sphaeriales fail to develop the 

 usual ostiolum and dehisce irregularly. 



The most constant characteristic of the Perisporiales is the 

 production of superficial perithecia oh aerial mycelium. These 

 fungi cannot be said to differ essentially in this respect, however, 

 from the Chaetomiaceae or other lower groups of the Sphaeriales. 

 Moreover in the Perisporiales the existence of such forms as 

 Oidiopsis t auric a (Salmon 46) shows that even in this group the 

 mycelium is not necessarily always superficial. A consideration 

 of all these facts concerning the method of dehiscence of the peri- 

 thecium, combined with a comparative study of the general 

 morphology of the fungi embraced in the Perisporiales raises the 



