S P H 2E R I A S P E R M O ID E S .
Black Seed-like Sphceria.
C l a s s a n d O r d e r CRYPTOGAMIA FÜNGI, Linn— N a t . O r d . H Y P O X Y L A , De Cand.
Grev Part of FUNGI, Juss. Hook.
GEN ERIC c h a r a c t e r .
Receptaculum 0. Sphairuke cornece, lìbera;, sessiles aut subimmerscB, sparsa; vel
congestce, ore interdum elongato ; intùs gelatinosa;, sporulis in tubis Jtlformi-
bus nidulantibus.
Receptacle 0. Spherules free, corneous, sessile or subhmnersed, scattered
or crowded, the mouth sometimes elongated ; interior filled with a gelatinous
mass, in which are numerous filiform tubes containing sporules.
S PEC IF IC c h a r a c t e r .
S p h ì e r i a spermoides ; globosa congesta, nigra, subrugosa, ostiolo minuto obso-
letOy aut indistincte papillato.
s. globose, crowded, black, opake, siibrugose, with a minute obsolete, or indistinctly
papilliform orifice.
SPH.ERIA spermoides, Hoffm. Crypt. Fase. 2. p. 12. t. 3. f. 3.—Pers. Syn. Fung.
p. 75,------ AU>. et Schrv. Conspect. Fung. p. Sg.—De Cand. Fl. Fran;, v. 2.
p. 297. Fjusd. Syn. p. 62.—Moug. et Nest. Plant. Exs. No. 484.—Hook.
Fl. Scot. Pt. 2. p. 7.
Spi-iasRiA aggregata, With. Bot. Arr. ed. 6. v. 4. p. 469-
S p h a s r i a bombardica, Bolt. Fung. t. 122. f. 2.—Sow. Fng. Fung. t. 372. f. 4.
Purl, Midi. Fl. V. 2. p. 711. (iwt o f the same author, v . 3. p. 491. where
the true Sph. bombardica and spermoides are confused in the synonymes together).
S p h . e r i a globularis, Batsch, Flench. Fung. 1. p. 271. t. 30. f. 180.— Willd.
Prodr. 1213— Timm. Megapol. 1170- (JH. Hoffm.)
L y c o p e r d o n n i g r u m , Light. Fl. Scot. v . 2 . p . 1069- t . 31. lower figure, (not
o f Hudson.)
Hab. On dead stumps of trees, chiefly where deprived of their bark, and
near the ground ; in moist shady places the whole year ; not unfrequent.
Sphaerules globular, sessile, black, opake, subrugose under a common lens,
scarcely at all shining, generally so crowded as to form an uninterrupted
stratum, but sometimes scattered and quite distinct, particularly when
growing on an uneven surface. Mouth frequently obsolete, sometimes
indistinctly papilliform,—a character, however, which it always loses after
the sporules have been discharged. Interior of the spherules filled with
a whitish jelly, in which are a great number of filiform tubes, each containing
several sporules, of an oblong form. In old age, this jelly, as it
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