HIMANTIA CANDIDA.
Common White Hiinantia.
C l a s s a n d O r d e r CRYPTOGAMIA FUNGI, L i™ .—N a t . O r d . MUCEDINES,
Link—BYSSOlDEÆ, Grev.
GEN ERIC CHARACTER.
Flocci i-epentes divergenti-ramosi, laxe coniexti. Sporidia libera, parca.
Filaments creeping, branched in a diverging manner, laxly connected.
Sporidia free, few in number.
s p e c if ic c h a r a c t e r .
H im a n t ia c a n d id a ; plerumque epiphylla, candida, fasciculis Jhccorum prima-
riorum, apice dilatatis phimosis.
H. mostly epiphyllous, pure white, the primary bundles of filaments dilated
and plumose at their extremities.
H im a n t ia candida, Pers. Syn. Fung. p. 704.—Alb. et Schmein. p. 373.—Nees,
Syst. t. 5. f. 72 Schmein. Fung. Carol. No. 1365— Hook. FI. Scot. 2. p. 35.
—Grev. FI. Fdin. p. 470.
H im a n t ia p i u m o s a , Pers. Mycol. Furop. 1 . p . 9 0 -
B y s s o c l a d iu m c a n d i d u m , Fink, Berl. Mag. v . 7 - p - 3 6 ;
F i b r i l l a r i a s t e l l a t a . Som. Fung. t . 3 8 7 . f- 1 .
B ys sus c a n d id a , Huds. FI. Angl. p. 607-— With. Bot. Arr. (in p a r t.)— Belli.
FI. Cant. e d . 3. p. 507-—Fightf. FL Scot. p. 1003— Purt. Midi. FI. v. 2.
p. 609.—De Cand. FI. Franç. ed . 3. v. 2. p. 66.—Fjusd. Syn. p. 13.
B ys sus t e n e r r im a v i l l o s a e t e l e g a n t i s s im e r a m u l o s a , Ray, Syn. p . 4 7 6 . t . 2 3 .
—Dill. Sp. Muse. p . 7- t- 1. f . 1 5 .
H a b . On decaying leaves and sticks in damp places, extremely common at
all seasons.
Plant from one to two inches or more in breadth, appressed, creeping, of a
beautiful byssus-bke aspect, and snow-white colour. The filaments are
uniform, very minute, and irregularly bundled together, so that there
appear to be many principal stems diverging from a centre, but which
are in reality only a great number of the filaments laxly connected together
: these bundles give off smaller ones, in a diverging b u t otherwise
in no regular manner, and the whole become more and more dilated
and feathery towards their extremities. Minute oval or oblong
sporidia appear to be sparingly scattered among the filaments.
anCx i.-i •.