HISTORY. 
Originally collected by Harkness it was sent to Cooke and re¬ 
ferred to the South African form. Polyplocium inquinans. Recently it 
was described (Bull. Tor. 95-492) from Southern California as Secotium 
decipiens. Polyplocium Californicum I think is a slender form of it.* 
Podaxon strobilaceus (Ann. Myc. .02-4) is probably a slender form of it.+ 
Specimens in our Collection. 
Los Angeles, California, L. A. Greata (abundant), San Bernardino , S. B Parish. 
294—GYROPHRAGMIUM TEXENSE. 
tPlate 24, Fig 5.) 
This plant described (Grev. 2-34) as Secotium Texense is cer¬ 
tainly only a small form of the Pacific Coast plant and probably grows 
continuously through the desert to lower California. The specimen we 
have received from Mr. Long is smaller, more scaly and the spores 
slightly smaller (5-6 mic.) than the western form. 
Specimens in our Collection. 
Texas, W. H. bong, Jr. 
295—GYROPHRAGMIUM INQUINANS. 
(Plate 24. Figs, 1 and 2.) 
Only one specimen of the plant is known. It was collected in 
South Africa sixty years ago by Zeyher, described as Polyplocium in¬ 
quinans and is preserved at Kew. It is more robust than the North 
African [species and the trainal plates (of this specimen) are more 
twisted together, and separate from each other so that at first view it 
appears quite different. The structure however, is essentially the same. 
The spores are slightly more oval than the North African form, but 
the contrast is not very great as shown by our silhouettes and the 
spores of no species are truly globose. 
296—Antony Gepp. 
My apologies are due and are extended to Mr. Anthony Gepp 
of the British Museum for misspelling his name “Jepp” in our last 
issue. He was very kind to me and I am sorry to have made such a 
mess of his name. It is one of the features of the English language 
that one can never tell how to spell a name from the way it is pro¬ 
nounced. Leister should also have been Lister. 
* Dr. Harkness was not very careful in distributing his specimens. The specimen in New 
York from him is a Gyrophragmium. The specimen at Berlin a Montagnites. On the strength 
•of this specimen Dr. Hollds refers Polyplocium Californicum as a synonym for Montagnites but it 
is quite evident that Harkness’ description does not refer to that genus. 
f The author, E. B. Copeland, has apparently such a slight knowledge of the characters of 
the genera of these plants that it is difficult to tell from his description to what genus his “new 
species ” belongs. P'rom his figure and also his description of “pendant, hymenium coated plates” 
it is probable his plant is a Gyrophragmium. Certainly it is not a Podaxon and has not the most 
remote resemblance, or the slightest character belonging to this genus. It is a sad commentary 
-on the competency of “new species” makers when their work shows such lack of elementary 
knowledge of the “old genera”. 
197 
