232 



Mycologia 



left to those having access to fresh specimens or to recently col- 

 lected material. 



Herbarium specimens are also badly mixed and it is necessary 

 in nearly all cases to get at the actual types for comparison. 

 Histological studies and enlarged drawings from type material 

 may be interesting and helpful but they can never take the place 

 of the types themselves. What we need is an abundance of 

 carefully collected and described fresh material closely compared 

 with originals and distributed to all the principal taxonomic cen- 

 ters for the use of students in identification. We thought that 

 the pileate polypores were sufficiently confused in American col- 

 lections, but the resupinates are many times worse. 



I. Poria humilis nom. nov. 



Polyporus incrustans Berk. & Curt. ; Berk. Grevillea i : 54. 1872. 



Not P. incrustans Pers. Myc. Eur. 2 : 93. 1825. 

 Poria incrustans Sacc. Syll. Fung. 6: 330. 1888. 



" Mollis, albus ; quisquilias incrustans ; mycelio gossypino ; 

 poris brevibus angulatis; dissepimentis tenuibus. No. 5671. 

 New England. Murray. 



" Running over grass and various substances, after the fashion 

 of Thelephora sehacea; white, soft, springing from a thin cotton- 

 like mycelium ; pores %o i^^ch wide, short, angular, with thin 

 dissepiments." 



Described from specimens collected in New England by Mur- 

 ray and still to be seen at Kew. The tubes are rather primordial. 



2. Poria elachista (Berk.) comb. nov. 



Polyporus minimus Rav. ; Berk. Grevillea i : 65. 1872. Not P. 



minimus Fries. 1838. 

 Polyporus elachista Berk. ; Cooke, Grevillea 15 : 57. 1886. 



Pulvinatus fere totus e poris mollibus ceraceis candidis elon- 

 gatis minimis constitutus. No. 2988. Car. Inf. 



" Only one or two lines across, forming little cushions, consist- 

 ing almost entirely of very minute, elongated, wax-like pores." 



Type from South Carolina by Ravenel. Only four small frag- 

 ments were to be seen at Kew, and these were of little use. A 



