m
SPORIDERMIUM a t r u m .
Black Sporidermium.
C l a s s a n d O r d e r CRYPTOGAMIA FUNGI, £ m n ._ N A T . O r d . BYSSOIDEÆÎ
Grev.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
Fibræ (Sporidia??) simplices, erectoe, opacoe, clavatæ, annulatoe, confertoe, ef-
fusæ.
Filaments (Sporidia??) simple, erect, opaque, clavate, transversely divided,
crowded, effused.
S PEC IF IC CHARACTER.
S po r id e rm ium atrum ; atrum, confertissimum, fb roe lineari-oblongoe, 4 -5 - je p -
tatæ.
S. black, very crowded, filaments Unear-oblong, 4-5 times divided.
S po r id e rm ium atriun. Link.—Nees, Syst. p. 5. t. 1. f. 18.
H ab. Parasitic on species of Thelephora. Autumn. Appin, Captain Carm
ich a e l . Woods in the vicinity of Fdinburgh.
A plant of a very simple structure, composed entirely of linear-oblong or
club-shaped semi-opaque bodies, closely arranged side by side, exactly
of the same height, and transversely divided by three or four dissepiments.
When viewed with the naked eye, it resembles an intensely
black, thin crust, creeping over the surface of Thelephoroe. The specimens
from Captain Ca rm ich a e l , as well as those found by myself, oc-
curred on Thelephora vulgaris.
In that eminently useful work, the “ System der Pilze und
Schwämme” of my friend Dr N e e s v o n E s e n b e c k , I find
that L i n k is the authority for the present genus, but I know
not in what work, unless it be in the 5th volume of the Berlin
Magazine, a hook which I unfortunately do not possess, and
which is not to be found in the public libraries of this metropolis,
I am q u ite at a loss in wh a t lig h t to regard th e bodies o f
which th e entire p lan t is c om p o sed ; w hether as filam ents formin
g a general tha llu s, or as sporidia.
VOL. IV*.