Fttzpatrick: Monograph of Coryneliaceae 215 



In Sorica maxima the perithecium resembles that in Caliciopsis 

 but has the ability to proliferate in a remarkable manner, a new 

 perithecium being- developed at the tip of the old. In Tripospora 

 tripos and Corynelia fructicola the perithecium dehisces as in 

 Caliciopsis and Sorica, but the long stalk of the perithecium is 

 absent, and in form and habit the species more closely approxi- 

 mate the more highly developed members of the group. These 

 two species are remarkably similar in the general appearance of 

 the perithecium, which is flask-shaped with a long, narrow neck 

 dilated at the apex to form a broad, flat disc. They differ chiefly 

 in the character of their spores. The existence of the peculiar 

 stellate spores in Tripospora tripos is difficult to explain. No 

 other species in the family shows a tendency toward the develop- 

 ment of this stellate character, the brown, oval or spherical spores 

 being remarkably similar throughout the group. The occurrence 

 of Corynelia fructicola on Rapanea and the occurrence of Tripo- 

 spora tripos on Podocarpus is noteworthy. Since all of the other 

 species of Corynelia occur on Podocarpus it seems logical to con- 

 clude that the ancestral stock had become restricted to this host 

 before the stellate spores of Tripospora appeared. Otherwise 

 the occurrence of Tripospora on Podocarpus must necessarily be 

 regarded as a coincidence. 



The most primitive species in which dehiscence of the peri- 

 thecium by an apical split occurs is probably Corynelia tropica. 

 Corynelia' uberata shows this type of dehiscence slightly more 

 highly developed. In Corynelia tropica the apical split is accom- 

 panied by fimbriate-laceration of the resultant lobes, the transi- 

 tion to the more primitive condition thus being shown. Dehis- 

 cent perithecia of C. bispora and C. nipponensis have not been 

 seen, but the probable position of these species in the phyllogeny 

 of the group as indicated by other characters is shown in the ac- 

 companying chart. In none of these species is the apex of the 

 perithecium lobed. 



It may be safely assumed that a perithecium definitely lobed at 

 the apex shows in this respect a more recent modification than 

 one with the more usual rounded apex. Following the same line 

 of reasoning we may assume that a definitely 3 -lobed apex repre- 



