56 



Mycologia 



pscudopedicillatum is the only other species which appears in the 

 temperate zone in the United States. The known geographical 

 range of 5*. pinicola is thus far rather puzzling. The writer knows 

 of its occurrence in all the New England states but Rhode Island 

 and in New York, but no collections in Canada or the middle 

 western white pine states are known. The writer is quite sure 

 that he has collected it in Wisconsin, but the collection can not be 

 found, nor can collections by others in Michigan, Wisconsin, or 

 Minnesota be located. On the other hand, Dr. Weir, of this office, 

 informs the writer that this same Scptobasidium occurs also upon 

 Pinus monticola in the western states and cites one of his collec- 

 tions from Idaho. No further data are at hand, however, relative 

 to its distribution west of the Mississippi or of the possibility of 

 its occurrence upon Pinus lambertiana. It is very likely to be 

 found abundantly in certain loci in pine woods in the east, and 

 occasionally dozens of the fruit bodies may be seen upon a single 

 tree. They have been found only very rarely on trees under 3 

 inches in diameter at the base, but have been collected, however, 

 on very small twigs of larger trees. 



The fruit bodies of 5. pinicola occur only upon the smooth bark 

 of white pines. They are especially common in the angles made 

 by the lower sides of the branches with the trunk (Plate 11). As 

 far as the tree is concerned, the fungus is a pure epiphyte. It 

 lives entirely superficially, and not only does not injure any living 

 tissue, but does not even penetrate the outer bark (Plate 13, fig. 1). 

 It is not associated with wounds, pitch flow, blister rust cankers, 

 or any other fungus, although it is often overgrown with a lichen, 

 especially when old. The fruit bodies do not bear any decided 

 relation to the points of the compass. In some spots in the woods 

 it has appeared that there were more fructifications upon the north- 

 east half of the trunk than upon the southwest half, but this is by 

 no means universally true. The sporophores are found more com- 

 monly on well-shaded portions of the trees, but they are occasion- 

 ally found where they are exposed to the direct rays of the sun. 



Other species of the genus Septobasidium are known to be asso- 

 ciated with scale insects (1, pp. 321-322; 2; 3), and the status of 

 5. pinicola in this respect is at once brought in question. An 



