270 
CRYPTOGAMIA. FUNGI. Fistulina. 
Gills very much branched, and anastomosing-, thick, forming oblong, angu¬ 
lar, and nearly circular cavities, especially towards the edge. 
Pileus woody, nearly semi-circular, or of no regular shape, marked with 
circular tiled ridges as well as with different shades of colour, soft to the 
touch like buff leather or fine cork, one to five inches over or more. 
Stem none. 
Bolton, who has accurately attended to the economy of this plant, 
observes that in its first stage of growth the gills are uppermost, they are 
then distinct, and branched, their sides united by minute lateral projec¬ 
tions. In its second stage the pileus is in part detached from the sub¬ 
stance on which it grew, the detached part rises up to an horizontal 
position, increasing in size, while the other part remains fixed, serving as 
a support to it. As it becomes older, the lateral projections of the gills 
increase in size, and filling up the interstices between the gills give them 
the appearance of oblong pores. Bulliard in plate 442 has given seve¬ 
ral varieties of this very singular plant, and Schaeffer 231 represents 
a monstrous unusual growth. Mr. Woodward observes that the union 
of the gills forming lacunae, leaves it doubtful whether it should be placed 
with the Agarics or the Boleti. Mr. Stackhouse states that the pileus may 
be said to consist only of fructification, as it cannot be separated from the 
old wood without taking with it the part it adheres to ; he also agrees 
with Bulliard that it sometimes appears so much like a Boletus as to 
occasion a doubt to which genus it should be referred. He further 
remarks, that in some of the thick, and to appearance solid specimens, 
the pileus is not thicker than a shilling, that the gill is a leathery sub¬ 
stance, little resembling the gill of an Agaric, and that it is the link which 
connects the Agarics with the Boleti. Ray Syn. 25. n. 21. 
(Oak Agaric. Ag -. quercinus. Schaeff. Bolt. He Cand. Purt. j Dasdalea 
quercina. Hook. Purt. E.) Common on old pales, stumps, and decayed 
trees. 
Var. 2. Pileus green, soft, clothy. 
Bolt. 73. d. 
Gills brown, waved, often connected, in no regular order. 
Pileus marked with concentric circles of various hues, from green to brown; 
one to seven inches over. Flesh woody, thin, white. 
It is possible that the green coat may be a species of Byssus, but this idea 
did not occur whilst the plant was fresh. 
On old timber. Nov. 1790. 
FISTULFNA.* Pileus with separate tubes underneath. 
Seeds in the tubes. 
F. hepat'ica. Tubes very slender, unequal: pileus thick, soft, flesh- 
coloured. 
(Hook. FI. Fond. 126— Sowerby 58. E.)— Bull. 464. 497 and 74— (FI. Han. 
113 6 and 1137. E.)— Mich. 60— Schaeff. 119. 118. 117. 116. 120— Bolt. 79. 
Tubes white, to yellow red, unequal in length, very slender; distinct from 
each other, not fixed side to side or buried in the substance of the flesh. 
Pileus semi-circular, (or divided into large unequal lobes. E.) flesh red, 
pulpy. 
Stem thick, red, lateral, sometimes wanting. Bulliard; whose admirable 
drawings should be consulted in order to gain a good idea of the structure 
* (Descriptive of the hollow pipes or tubes underneath the pileus. E.) 
