390 Cooke : Genera and Species in Fun^i. 



indeed, for all species. And if this doctrine is trne as regards 

 natnral orders, why is it not trne of families, genera and species ? 

 Indeed, it ma}^ fairly be presumed that if it is true in the one 

 case, it is in the others. I am often deeply grieved that these 

 views did not present themselves to me many years ago, when 

 I had so many facilities for discovering ' missing links ' all over 

 the world, which could not occur within the limits of a local 

 flora. 



In the present instance I am only concerned to apply this 

 hypothesis to a single group of Fungi, and that the Hymenomy- 

 cetes, although I do not doubt in the least of its being applicable 

 all round. 



: My illustrations will consequently be confined to this single 

 group, which will be sufficient to illustrate my theory. 



Of course, as no one's attention has been called to observa- 

 tion in this direction, the illustrations collected will necessarily 

 be few, but they may be largely increased when other observers 

 take to the field. For instance, Calocera, with the habit of 

 Clavaria and the fructification of Tremella, is a missing link, 

 and may be included in Clavariaceae or in Tremellacese without 

 being a good member of either, and may be included in either 

 order with equal justice, according to the will of the author, 

 since it unites the two orders without belonging to either. 



Again, Tremellodon has the external features of Hydnum, 

 but the fruit of Tremella, so that again it is an anomaly in the 

 Hydnaceae as well as Tremellacese, and we may write it thus : — - 



Hydnacese — Tremellacece — Clavariaceae 



So again if we revert to the Clavariaceae we shall find that 

 the exotic genus Lachnocladium, which is usually included in 

 the Thelephoraceae, has the habit and appearance of a Clavaria 

 with the texture and spores of Thelephora, and was included by 

 Fries in Thelephoraceae, but by Saccardo in Clavariaceae, and 

 may be stated thus : — 



' Thelephoraceae — Clavariacece — Tremellaceae 



In Thelephoraceae the entire genus of Cyphella has the 

 habit and appearance of Peziza, but the structure of the Thele- 

 phoraceae, and, even in some cases, the fructification when 

 quite mature, passes into that of the Discomycetes, so that the 

 genus is a ' missing link ' between the Hymenomycetes and the 

 Discomycetes. 



. >{aturalisti 



