Seaver: The Genus Lamprospora 



47 



mind, is that proposed by Boudier,^ i. e., to separate them into 

 the operculate and non-operculate forms. The former group 

 would include those in which the asci open by an operculum or 

 lid and the latter those in which the asci open by a pore. As 

 pointed out by Boudier these characters are accompanied by nu- 

 merous others which strongly suggest a natural division. This 

 classification would throw together the Ascobolaceae and Peziza- 

 ceae unless some morphological character can be discovered on 

 which they can be distinguished other than that which is com- 

 monly used. The occurrence of many of the Ascobolaceae on 

 the dung of animals is a convenient character but there are so 

 many exceptions that this can hardly be relied upon as a charac- 

 teristic of the family. If the Ascobolaceae are kept distinct on 

 the character usually employed, the protrusion of the asci, at 

 least some of the species of the genus Lamprospora should be 

 placed among the Ascobolaceae. Whether the entire genus 

 should be transferred I am uncertain. To my mind the most 

 natural thing would be to ignore the family distinctions of the 

 Ascobolaceae and Pezizaceae and key out the genera regardless 

 of this family distinction. 



Lamprospora De-Not. Comm. Critt. Ital. i : 388. 1864 

 Crouama Fuckel, Symb. Myc. 320. 1869. 

 Barlaea Sacc. Syll. Fung. 8: iii. 1889. 

 Barlaeina Sacc. Syll. Fung. 14: 30. 1899. 



Plants small, scarcely exceeding 5 mm. in diameter, concave, 

 plane or slightly convex, usually bright-colored or more rarely 

 pallid, fleshy, hymenium often roughened by the protruding asci ; 

 asci 8-spored, operculate; spores comparatively large, globose, at 

 first smooth, at maturity often sculptured, verrucose, echinulate, 

 reticulate or tuberculate or permanently smooth, hyaline ; paraph- 

 yses numerous and usually clavate. 



Type species, Ascoholus miniatus Crouan. 



Lamprospora tuberculata sp. nov. 



Plants small, 0.5-1 mm. in diameter, hymenium gradually 

 expanding, at maturity plane or slightly convex, bordered by a 



^ Boudier, E., On the importance that should be attached to the dehiscence o£ 

 asci in the classification of the discomycetes. Grevillea 8: 45-48. 1879. 



