is the same color as usual, and the spores as in most polysaccums are 
globose, rough, varying in size from S to 10 mic. 
The type specimen is in the collection of E. Boudier, Montmor¬ 
ency, France, and was sent to Monsieur Boudier from the island of 
Corsica. 
278—QUELBTIA MIRABILIS 
This plant has been described and illustrated in Mycologieal 
Notes (p. 135 and plate 10) but we find it of sufficient interest to pre¬ 
sent another figure of it herewith. This was made from a beautiful 
specimen in the Museum at Paris, col¬ 
lected by Le Breton. 
Queletia mirabilis is one of the 
mysteries of the puff-ball world. Only 
four collections of it have ever been 
made, and all of them are undoubtedly 
adventitious, two from France, one in 
Fngland and one in the United States. 
The native country of the plant is un¬ 
known. 
It was first collected at “Port de 
Soehaux, France.” (about 1868) by 
Perdrizet de Vandoncourt, sent to 
Quelet, who sent it to Fries, by whom 
it was described and named. 
2nd. It was collected by A. Ue 
Breton in 1884 at St. Saens (Seine- 
Infr.) France, “on a large pile of old 
tan bark.” Le Breton sent his plants 
abundantly to Cooke and they are now 
at Kew, and he also sent them to the 
Museum at Paris (see fig. 77). 
3rd. It was found by Dr. Wm. 
Herbst in 1892 (cfr. Myc. Notes p. 
135 ) on a pile of old tan bark atTrex- 
lertown, Pa. 
4th. Dr. Herbst sent his mater¬ 
ial to Kew, and the “packing” was 
thrown out under a tree near the her¬ 
barium building. The next year an 
abundant crop was collected at that 
spot by Prof. Massee. 
In all these instances the plants grew abundantly but never re¬ 
appeared the second year in the same locality. If any of my readers 
can favor me with the record of an additional collection I hope they 
will write to me. 
The fact that two of these known occurrences were on piles of 
old tan bark point to the conclusion that the spores were introduced in 
hides from South America (cfr. Myc. Notes, p. 135) but that is not 
certainly known and the plant is unrecorded from that country. 
185 
