164 
It seems therefore desirable that the question should be settled 
and the evidence brought to light. 
The history of the two names may be given as follows, taking 
first that of :— 
C. DISSIPABILIS. This was described by Britzelmayr in 1885 
(Hymenomyceten aus Siidbayern, p. 289, fig. 28). The spores 
are stated to be 4-6p diam. and provided with spines of different 
lengths. The coloured figure given is not elaborate but it shows 
the habit of the plant. 
In 1893 Massee (Grevillea xxii, p. 42) recorded C. disszpabilis 
for Britain from Yorkshire specimens sent by C. Crossland ; 
since then it has been found commonly throughout the country. 
Together, however, with the appearance of C. disstpabrlis, the 
smooth spored C. imaegualis ceased to be met with, and those 
plants which would have previously been named C. inaequalis 
were found on examination to be rough spored and hence re- 
ferred to Britzelmayr’s species. 
C. INAEQUALIS. The original reference and figure is in Flora 
Danica 1780, tab. 836, fig. 1. A yellow or orange-yellow fungus 
is figured. The clubs, which are somewhat flattened and 
pointed, grow in groups of threes and fours. It is named 
“Clavaria inaequalis caespitosa compressa, lutea, apice acu- 
minata.”’ Our ideas of C. inaequalis originate from this figure ; 
there is no “type” specimen. In 1797 when Persoon brought 
together the different species of Clavaria, he included C. 
inaegualis, quoting Fl. Dan. and giving a diagnosis. From 
Persoon’s time and onward C. inaequalis has been recognised 
and recorded as of frequent occurrence. The first reference to 
the character of the spores appears to be in 1882, in which year 
Karsten (Ryss. Finl. Skand. Hattsv. 11, p. 171) describes these 
bodies as elliptical, 10x 5. This statement has been accepted 
by later writers; consequently when a rough spored plant was 
found it was pronounced new.” Thus Britzelmayr formed his 
C. dissipabilis and Boudier and Patouillard founded their C. 
similis (now a generally admitted synonym 6raG: dissipabilis) 
stating that it had been previously confounded with 
inaegualis but differed chiefly in the character of the spores. 
When, however, we come to examine specimens 1n Herbaria, 
a C. inaequalis with elliptical smooth spores can nowhere be 
found. In Berkeley's Herbarium at Kew, for instance, all the 
European specimens of C. zxaequalzs (it is unnecessary korean 
sider those outside Europe) fall into C. dissipabilis, with the 
*Tt is interesting to note that Saccardo gives an alternative type of pe 
for C. inaequalis, “ elliptical 10-12 «54 #” or “ irregularly globose Baie the 
fortunately the former measurement has been usually accepted, whereas = 
latter is approximately correct. Quélet also im 1889 gives tne Spors= 
globose 7 », but does not mention spines. 
