ACROSPERMUM c o m p r e s s u m .
Dark narrow-stemmed Acrospermum.
IS?.
Class and O rd e r CRYPTOGAMIA FUNGI, Unn ^Nat. Ord. GASTBOMYCIt
Grev.
GEN ERIC CHARACTER.
Receptaculum elongatum, subclavatum, subcartilagineum, scepe stipiiaium, intus
siibhomogeneum, apice demum subtumens, e sporidiis pruinoso.
Receptacle elongated, subclavate, somewhat cartilaginous, often furnished
with a stipes, within subhomogeneous; apex a t length becoming somewhat
tumid and pruinose from the sporidia.
s p e c i f i c CHARACTER.
A cros permum compressum; slipitatum, plerumque lanceolatum, obtuduscu-
lum, subcompressum, nigrescente-olivaceum.
A. stipitate, mostly lanceolate, somewhat obtuse, subcompressed, of a dark
olivaceous colour.
A c r o s p e rm um c om p re s sum , Tode, Fung. 1 . p . 8. t. 2. f. 13 Fries, Syst. v. I.
p . 24 5 .
Clavaria Herbarum, Pers. Comment, p. 68. t. 3. f. 4.—Syn. Fung. p. 605.
Saw. Fung. t. 353.—Alb. et Schwein. p. 291.—De Cand. FI. Franf. v. 6.
p. 30.—Schmidt et Kunze, St. Exdcc. No. 69.—Purt. Midi. FI. v. 3. p. 331.
t. 19. f. 3.—Schwein. Fung. Carol. No. IIO9.
H ab. On the dead stems o f the larger herbaceous plants, and even on dead
leaves. Autumn. River side, near Lasswade S ow er by ’s figure is
taken from specimens collected by Mr G ibbs, in Devonshire; a u d it
has been since found by Mr Ba x t e r on dead nettle-stems on Shotover
Hill near Oxford.
Minute, 1-2 lines high, erect, shortly stipitate, then swelling out, and again
becoming attenuated towards the apex, and varying from oblong to
lanceolate, of a dark greyish-brown, or olivaceous colour, slightly pel-
lucid, and smooth when moist, in drying becoming longitudinally sulcate,
and much sharper at the point. When mature, the apex is slightly concentrically
rugose, pale, and pruinose from the evolved sporidia, according
to T o d e and F r i e s . The stipesis short and cylindrical, the remainder
somewhat compressed, b u t most so when dry. Substance cartilaginous,
very firm, and even corneous in the dry state. The interior
in my specimens, apparently composed o f a dense mass of filaments, longitudinally
disposed, and passing towards the base into a firm uniform
substance. I have never been able to detect the sporidia.
VOL. IV.