May 1903] Review of Genera of Polyporaceae 
87 
A HISTORICAL REVIEW OF THE GENERA OF THE 
POLYPORACEAE.* 
BY WILLIAM ALPHONSO MURRILL. 
It is not my intention to lengthen the present paper with a 
formal introduction. The subject of “generic types” is not un¬ 
known to American botanists and the historical method here 
adopted leaves little to be explained. The principles by which 
I have been chiefly guided are also quite well known, having been 
stated and explained by Underwood in “A Review of the Genera 
of Ferns proposed prior to 1832” (Mem. Torrey Club, 6:250). 
and restated by Banker in “A Historical Review of the proposed 
Genera of the Hydnaceie,” which appeared in the July number of 
the current volume of the Torrey Bulletin. After a brief state-. 
ment regarding the establishment of each genus in its chronologi¬ 
cal order, an alphabetical summary will be made in which avail¬ 
able generic names will be distinguished from those which for 
any reason are considered untenable. In order to make the species 
names better understood in cases where an early name is re¬ 
stored, the name assigned to the given species by Saccardo in his 
Sylloge is placed in parenthesis after the earlier name. 
1. Agaricus (Dill.) L. Sp. PI. 1176. 1753. — Based on A. 
quercinus L. FI. Suec. 380. n. 1082, 1745, where this species 
is directly referred to Dillenius’ genus Agaricus. Since Linnaeus 
states that he adopted the genus Agaricus from Dillenius and this 
species is the only one directly cited by Linnaeus as belonging to 
the genius, it must stand as its type. 
2. Ceriomyces Batarr. Fung. Hist. 62. PI. 29. f. A. B. 
1755. — Founded upon one species of Polyporus and several spe¬ 
cies of Boletus as these terms are used in Saccardo. The first 
binomial species listed is C. crassus Batarr., which must be con¬ 
sidered the type of the genus, thus placing Ceriomyces among the 
Boletaceae. 
3. Kordera Adans. Fam. 2:10. 1763. — Based on Vaill. 
Bot. Par. pi. 8. f. 1. 1727. The species here figured is not binom¬ 
ial and not definitely determinable. 
4. Mison (Grae.) Adans. Fam. des PI. 2:10. 1763.— 
Founded on Agaricum Mich. t. 62, 63 and briefly described. 
These two plates being very different and being so recognized by 
Micheli (Nov. PI. Gen. 121. 1729), who represents on them two 
different sections of Agaricum, the name Mison properly belongs 
with the first which is Polyporus igniarius (L.) Fr. The genus 
name, however, cannot hold because the name of its type species 
as cited was not binomial. 
* Read before the Botanical Society of America at Washington, De¬ 
cember, 1902. 
