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PLATE 4 5 .-F ig s . 1, 2, 3, i , 5, 6, 7.
POLYPOKUS KUTII.ANS, F r.
F rie s, E pic r. p. 455. P ers. Ic. et Descr. t. 0, f. 4. Ann. N. II. No. .340.
Berk. Outl. p. 242. Cooke, Handbook, p. 270.
PoLYPOBUS pileo carnoso, tenui, molli, primo villoso dein glabrato, azono,
expallente ; poris curtís, minutis, tenuibus, cinnamoneis.
Pileus fleshy h u t tough, thin, soft, a t first villous th en smootli, zone-
less, tawny-cinnamon, tu rn in g pale, of th e same colour within ; spores short,
minute, thin, equal, acute, cinnamon. On fallen branches.—Fries.
We are indebted to C. J . Muller, E sq., of Eastbourne, for the specimen
figured, obtained by him from th e neighbourhood of Polegate, S u s s e x ; and
for th e following interesting particulars, published in th e ‘ Jo u rn a l of
B otany,’ No. 109.
Pileus semi-orbicular, corky, thin, dry, smooth, stemiess, projecting
from the wood on which it grows ; colour ochraceous, clotlied on the uqiper
surface with a fine d ow n ; cuticle n o n e ; pores minute, angular, toothed,
cinnamon-coloured; mycelium of th e same colour as the p ile u s ; odour
ag re e ab le ; size three inches by two, thickness three-e igliths of an inch in
th e th ick e st p a r t ; spores ovate, almost immeasurably minute. Growing
on a dead log of wood, and slightly resupinate. T h e specimen was
submitted to th e Bev. M. J. Berkeley, who considered it a form of P.
rutilans, F r. On th e application of liquor potass® to a section of the pores,
th e re is immediately developed a beautiful magenta colour, and in a very
sh o rt space of time an abundant crop of th in rhomhoidal crystals is
produced, which, un d e r polarized light, are extremely beautiful and brilliant.
When a fragment containing th e pores is exposed to gentle h e a t over
a spirit-lamp, there rises, a t a certain degree of temperature, a glittering
cloud of extremely th in tab u la r crystals, nearly square, and which reflect
lig h t of all colours, like th e finest gems. I n tlie polariscope they are quite
gorgeous. T h e addition of a solution of potash to these crystals developes
a t once th e magenta colour obtained by th e action of alkali on th e pores, with
th e same re su lt of the formation of rhomhoidal crystals. I t m ay be inferred
from these phenomena th a t the hymeneal membrane of th e fungus contains
a volatile acid, like the acid principle in certain lichens, th e decomposition
of which, by means of alkalies, developes red colouring matter. The
addition of a strong solution of silicate of soda to th e sublimed crystals
occasions th e formation of hair-like crystals, of great length, stra ig h t and
curved, radiating from centres, and unlike any crystalline formation I have
ever seen. T h e behaviour of th is fungus under th e action of alkalies and
lieat has recently been made more intere stin g to me by th e discovery th a t
Parmelia parietina, submitted to gentle prolonged heat, produces on the
surface, particularly about the apothecia, a crop of very beautiful crystals