128 



Mycologia 



Robert Hooke (Micrographia 125, pi. 12, f. i. 1665) describes 

 and figures a mushroom growing op " divers kinds of putrefied 

 bodies, such as skin raw* or dressed, flesh, blood, milk, green 

 cheese, rotten sappy wood, or herbs, leaves, bark, roots of 

 plants." The plants were also found to bespeck and whiten 

 over the red covers of a small book bound in sheep skin. This 

 kind of leather gathers mould more easily than other leathers." 



The plants are described as long, cylindrical with transparent 

 stalks bending over with the weight of a round knob that grows 

 on the top of them. The illustrations might easily be our common 

 black mould but the habitat makes it somewhat doubtful. 



Malpighius (De Plant, in aliis Veg. 65, pi. 28, f. 108. 1687), 

 describes and figures accurately the so-called Mucor stolonifer. 

 He observed the plants "in Cucurbitac putrescente pericarpio.'' 

 He observed clearly the rhizoids, radicibus minimis, and the 

 clusters of sporangiophores arising from the nodes of the stolons 

 " sometimes five, sometimes three, and not rarely two." His 

 description and discussion leave no doubt as to the identity of 

 his plants (see Wilson, Bull. Torrey Club 33: 557. 1906). 



Micheli /. c. first establishes the genus Mucor and divides it 

 into two sections, Mucores pediculo donati and Mucores pediculo- 

 carentes. The first species enumerated is Mucor vulgaris and 

 characterized as follows, capitnlo lucido per maturitatem nigro, 

 pediculo griseo.'' He cites Malpighius, Hooke and Sterbeeck. 

 The brief description and the illustration are not conclusive as 

 to the identity of his species but when studied in connection 

 with his observations, it is very evident that he had before him 

 Mucor stolonifer. 



In the Species Plantarum, Linnaeus enumerates under the 

 genus Mucor eleven species but only one, Mucor Mucedo, is now 

 retained under the genus, which becomes the type of the genus. 

 He cites Mucor vulgaris of Micheli as a synonym. Without 

 doubt, Mucor vulgaris and Mucor Mucedo refer to the same 

 plant. A careful study of the above citations leaves no doubt 

 as to the identity of the plants of Malpighius, Micheli and 

 Linnaeus. 



The following citations may be given as additional or corrobora- 

 tive evidence that the early botanists had before them the Mucor 

 Mucedo of Linnaeus with the identity as above indicated: 



