280 
ON THE PILOBOLIDiE. 
ON THE PILOBOLIDiE, 
WITH A SYNOPSIS OF THE EUROPEAN SPECIES, AND A 
DESCRIPTION OF A NEW ONE. 
BY W. B. GROVE, B.A., 
HON. LIBRARIAN OF THE BIRMINGHAM NATURAL HISTORY AND MICROSCOPICAL 
SOCIETY. 
(Continued from page 260.) 
PART IV.—HISTORICAL. 
The species of Pilobolus have been very much confused 
together, and many of the previous records are quite useless 
from the impossibility of deciding to which species they 
refer. 
The earliest record which I have been able to find of a 
species belonging to this genus is met with in the works of 
our own famous botanist, John Rav. In his Historia 
Plantarum 1 (1688) occurs the following passage, which, on 
account of its importance, I will quote in full :— 
“ E Catalogo hue tranfmiffo Anno 1680 , quem compofuit 
eruditiffimus vir et conlummatiffimus Botanicus D. Johannes 
Banifier Plantarum a feipfo in Virginia obfervatarum. 
‘‘Fungus (a ftercore equino) capillaceus capitulo rorido, nigro 
punctulo in fummitate notato. Ex recenti fimo noctu exoritur 
cauliculis erectis, vix digitum longis, capillorum inftar tenuibus 
nec minus denfis feu confertis. Singuli Cauliculi parvulo globulo 
aqueo coronantur, qui in fumma fui macula parva nigra Limacis 
oculi fimili infignitur.” 
It is then recorded and figured by Plukenet 2 as “Fungus 
Virginianus ex ftercoie equino capillaceus, canus, capitulo rorido, 
nigro punctulo in fummitate notato, D. Banifier .” From this 
figure and Ray’s description, it is evident that the species 
they had in view was similar to, if not identical with, that 
which was afterwards called Mucor roridus. 
The first record of this fungus as British is found in Ray’s 
Synopsis 3 (1696), in a list of plants observed and communi¬ 
cated by Mr. James Petiver, who remarks “ 7 bis I have obferved 
on Horfe-dung about London,” and refers to Plukenet’s figure. 
1 Hist. Plant., vol. ii., p. 1928. 
2 Almagestum, p. 1G4; Phytograpliia, pi. 116, fig. 7. 
3 Syn. Metli., ed. ii., Appendix, p. 322. 
