106 
MOLLISIA CINEREA AND ITS VARIETIES. 
By Charles Crossland, F.L.S. 

While examining Mollisee of the cinerea group one has often put 
to oneself the query—What is the real Mollisia cinerea =Peziza 
cinerea first described by Batsch Contr. myc. I. p. 196. fig. 137-8 
This question has been a puzzle to successive generations of 
Mycologists and most likely will remain so. 
It appears to be difficult to say what the real species was which 
Batsch had before him, from which he took the following des- 
cription : 
“ Sessile, cinereous, reflexed, margin crisped and sinuate- 
“Jobate. 
“Orbicular when young, or oblong and more closed ; 
“when full grown more spreading, irregular, when more 
“fully grown irregularly pulvinate, disc obsolete, scrobiculate 
“margin lobate, lobes short and rather broad; margin be- 
Hi “tween the elevated lobes depresso-sinuate, and therefore 
i : “ crisped. 
“Substance horny; semipellucid, cinereous, somewhat 
i “moist, dark, but becoming white when it begins to dry, 
i “when dry membranaceous, dirty white. 
il ; “The substance, scrobiculate and crisped margin, differs 
if . : from grisea Elenchi, but possibly it may be a variety 
i is 9 Oo it : 
Bh At first sight this appears to be fairly comprehensive for 4 
superficial description of a species so small as a Mollisia. 
Ha Unfortunately for it, some species of Mollisiz exhibit varying 
ai We phases according to age and conditions of growth: sometimes 
u the hymenium will be plane, with even margin, and the 
Nh ascophores small (} mm.) ; at other times the development of the 
hymenium will be so luxuriant as to force itself into all kinds of 
if } contortions, with margin fantastically waved or lobed, and the 
i ascophore large (3 mm.) The colour also may vary a little. 

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le When growth is most luxuriant the disc is whitest. Further, the 
ascophores may be scattered and quite free from each other, oF 
S) densely crowded and much contorted through mutual pressure. 


