Banker: Type Studies in the Hydnaceae 
295 
good condition and shows clearly that the species is our common 
American form. 
At Upsala a specimen was found marked ” Hydnum pulcherri- 
mum Berk. & Curt. H. f Habile Fr. ad Liquidambar dejecit. 
Carol, austr. M. A. Curtis.” The handwriting was that of 
Curtis. Is this specimen the type of H. friabile Fr.? There was 
no other specimen found at Upsala named H. friabile. This 
specimen was certainly a good example of H. pulcherrimum 
B. & C. As Fries himself expressed doubt as to the species being 
distinct we are justified in regarding them as the same species. 
Echinodontium Ellis and Everhart, Bull. Torrey 
Bot. Club 27 : 49. Feb. 1900 
Hydnofomes Hennings, Engler’s Bot. Jahrb. 28 : 267. Mar. 1900. 
Hydnophysa Clements, Genera of Fung. 108. 1909. 
The genus Echinodontium Ell. & Everh. was established on 
Pomes tinctorius Ell. & Everh. Bull. Torrey Club 22 : 362. 1895. 
This species was originally described from a specimen received 
from Alaska and known as “Swan 20851.” The type specimen 
is now preserved in the herbarium of the New York Botanical 
Garden. It has the teeth broken off even with the pileus and 
hence was described as a Pomes. Later, on obtaining more per- 
fect specimens and discovering the hydnaceous character of the 
plant, Ellis established the genus Echinodontium for the species. 
Hydnofomes Henn. was established on H. tsngicola Henn. & 
Shir., Engler’s Bot. Jahrb. 28 : 268. Mar. 1900. The species and 
genus were described from specimens collected at Nikko in Japan 
by Prof. Shirai and now preserved in the herbarium at Berlin. 
These specimens are smaller than the type of Echinodontium 
tinctorium Ell. & Everh. and appear to have a somewhat pendant 
habit; otherwise they do not appear to differ from our American 
species. It seems possible that the specimens are not typical of 
the species. The difficulties of transportation might readily 
account for the sending of undersized and perhaps poorly devel- 
oped specimens. Until further collections in Japan show con- 
clusively that the species is distinct from the American form, it 
seems necessary to regard the Japanese plant as the same species 
