mycological notes 
C. G. LLOYD 
Page 916. 
CORDYCEPS GRACILIS (Pig. 1638).- Universally misknown for 
eighty years or more in English and American traditions as Cordyceps 
entomorrhiza, which was due originally to Berkeley’s mistake. It 
should not have "been confused with the Dickson figure out no one 
seems to have looked up the original excepting Seaver and Cocke-, and 
they were not familiar enough with the species to note the error. 
Even Tulasne who was not often taken in with such things, slipped 
up on it, out he had a specimen of Broome*s English collection label¬ 
ed by Broome “Sphaeria exit omorrhi s a, Dickson 11 and naturally inferred 
that the English knew their own species. Cordyceps gracilis was 
well illustrated by Greville. It is the most frequent species in 
England and abundant specimens are in both the London museums mis¬ 
named Cordyceps entomcrrhiza. It seemed to ne more rare on the con¬ 
tinent. Tulasne made a collection at St. Cloud in 1360. Montague 
figured and named it correctly from Algiers, and Moeller from Brasil 
probably has it figured though he gives the secondary spores as 
12 mic. and Currey shows them 7 1/2 mic* A single collection from 
Australia was named Cordyceps Menesteridis. In the United States it 
is extremely rare. Peck made a collection of a single specimen, and 
in the hew York Botanical Garden arc several specimens which were 
developed In culture from Indiana material. There is nothing to sub¬ 
stantiate Schweinitz's record but from his comments his plant was 
Cordyceps gracilis. Ravenel's collection on which Ellis and Seaver 
based their publication is Cordyceps ophioglossoides (sic). I 
Judge from the specimen in Ravenel’s herbarium, surety not Cordyceps 
gracilis. In America the records are all in error as Cordyceps ento- 
morrhiza as in England, All the specimens I have seen or figures of 
Cordyceps gracilis 
which is the larva 
always develop on the same (or 
of some species of Lepidoptera 
Cordyceps grows from each larva and is 
attached, near 
insect. The specimen with several clubs (Fig. 
162 
similar) ho so # 
Usually only one 
the head, of the 
0 ), grown in cul- 
asen. 
ture Is not norr^l. The stem is an inch or a little longer, short 
and thick compared to the species for which it is generally mist 
The club is globose or subglobose, smooth, for the perithecia are all 
included and the osfioles do not project." Spores 7 i/2 teste Surrey. 
We present in our figure 1638 a photograph made at Kew where there 
are abundant collections. 
IKSTITALE ALBA FROM BURTT LEEPER, OHIO (Fig. 1639).- A soft, 
pure white fungal growth occurs very rarely on the face of polypo- 
roids. This is on a Pori a called Poria ochraceus in traditional 
mycology but Pori as have no definite names* I gathered probably 
this same species once on Femes Ohiensis. I was glad to get fresh 
material from Mr. Deeper for examination for I neglected to examine 
it at the time I gathered it. A section shows a mass of hyaline, 
oblong, smooth spores about 2 1/2 I 4 mic. and rather scanty, hyaline 
hyphae about 3 mic, in diameter. There are no basid.ia or any organs 
suggestive of basidia, I can not see any order or attachment to the 
spores. It belongs to that indefinite group called Hyphomycetes and 
I belfeve in old times they 
.led the 11 genus 11 Institale a kind of 
convenient name for everything they did not know. We use it in the 
same sense. 
