A MONOGRAPH OF THE BRITISH HYPOMYCES. 
3 
Hypomyces tuberosus , Tul., is a much larger plant than the 
preceding. The sclerotia are large, globose or irregular, whitish 
or pallid, and externally a good deal resembling those from which 
Agaricus cirrhatus is developed, but there is this very marked 
difference between these two sclerotia — those of the agaric, when 
cut across, are pale yellow within, while those of the so-called 
Hypomyces are reddish brown. My friend M. Cornu last autumn 
gave me some fresh sclerotia of the latter kind, which I placed in 
incisions in the stem of a specimen of Lactarius vellereus , and 
kept under a bell glass. In due course the sclerotia developed a 
beautiful mould consisting of a central stem which, in the course of 
a few days from its first appearance, grew to the height of 2 to 3 
c. m., and gave off at right angles branches bearing oval hyaline 
spores. The branches were very numerous, nearly at right angles 
to the central stem, not arranged in whorls. The erect direction of 
the stem soon became lost, and the branches interlaced with those 
of other specimens, so that an intricate mass was formed, from 
which was developed a fresh crop of sclerotia. 
Tulasne, Sel. Carp. Fung., in., p. 58, note. Saccardo, Mich., i., 
p. 287. 
There remain two species of Hypocrea which, only after 
mature consideration, have been excluded from the present 
monograph, namely, H. alutacea and H. inclusa , B. & Br. The 
former is a well known plant which has been figured and described 
by various authors under the generic designations of Hypocrea , Cor- 
dyceps , Claviceps , Sphceria, and Clavaria. As usually found in this 
country, it bears a stronger external resemblance to the Torrubice , 
than to the members of any other genus. Its fructification, how- 
ever, clearly shows its affinity to the Hypocrece. Its asci contain 
eight uniseptate hyaline sporidia, which at maturity fall into two 
separate halves at the septum, so as to appear as sixteen globose 
sporidia arranged in a linear series. 
M. Tulasne regards this species as an ally of the Hypomyces , 
and considers it parasitic upon Clavaria ligula. Now Clavaria 
ligula is not properly speaking an English species, for although 
within the last few years it has been recorded from Scotland, it has 
not as yet been met with south of the Dee. In searching for 
Hypocrea alutacea, some few years ago, near Hereford, Mr. C. E. 
Broome casually mentioned the fact that he frequently found it 
growing in company with Spathularia flavida , and since which time 
I have found it several times, but always associated with the 
Spathularia , except on one occasion. So intimate and pertinacious 
has this association been that 1 cannot doubt its parasitism. The 
other occasion, alluded to above, was near King’s Lynn, when it 
occurred upon an old stump, and although I cannot recognise the 
host upon which it grew (any more than the agaric which harbours 
Hypomyces luteo-virens) , yet I have no doubt as to the parasitic 
nature of this plant. 
The younger specimens are whitish in colour, and only assume 
