portunity to study and photograph the collection but gave me type 
specimens of many of his new finds. The specimens at Berlin are pre¬ 
served in envelopes and boxes, and are not glued down. Thus I was 
enabled to make good photographs of everything of interest which will 
explain why we will reproduce in our plates in future so many more 
photographs of the Berlin specimens than from Kew or Paris where 
the specimens are glued down and cannot be photographed to advan¬ 
tage. I spent a very pleasant month at Berlin. 
DR. MAGNUS. 
Herr. Prof. Magnus is a very active German mycologist with as 
large a private collection as I have ever seen. I found there much of 
interest including two collections of Trichaster melanocephalus from 
Germany. Only one other specimen has ever been found in Germany 
and this was in Link’s collection. Dr Magnus is professor of crvpto- 
gamic botany in the University and is a large man both physically and 
intellectually. He readily speaks English and several other languages. 
I met in Berlin Dr. Alfred Moller well known for his work on the 
Phalloids and Brazilian Fungi. 
273—THE HISTORY OF GEASTER FORNI- 
CATUS IN ENGLAND. 
The fact that there are two fornicate geasters that have been 
confused since Fries’ day under the name Geaster fornicatus is I think 
now usually admitted. One is a little pine-woods species which we 
call G. coronatus, the other is a large black plant that grows in fron- 
dose woods and which we have previously argued should bear the 
name Geaster fornicatus. The historical side of the question turns on 
the identity of the plant called by Hudson, Lycoperdon fornicatum. We 
desire to acknowledge our indebtedness to Mr. Jepp of the British 
Museum who kindly interested himself in looking up the evidence, also 
to Prof. Britten whose knowledge of the history of British botany is 
unsurpassed. 
As Hudson’s specimens were mostly destroyed by fire we can 
only present indirect evidence on the point. We supposed from the 
evidence that had reached us in America that the large black plant 
was the only species of the two that grows in England, but in this we 
were in error for we find a collection of the little pine-woods plant at 
Kew and also at the British Museum. Still it is far rarer than the other 
species which appears to be common, there being seven different and 
abundant collections of the large black species at Kew and three at the 
British Museum. It is also worthy of note that all the English illus¬ 
trations are of the large plant. Hudson in his last edition (17(52) gives 
the habitat ‘ in pastures and fields but rare ” at Buckleburg Berkshire 
and Wickham Kent. The nature of the forests in these districts is ad¬ 
ditional evidence, for each species has its peculiar habitat. Mr. Jepp 
who is familiar with the Kent section tells me it is a frondose woods 
only, so that it must have been the large black species that was collected 
there. 
As to Berkshire however, it is not so clear, for patches of ever- 
176 
