Lloyd Mycological Writings V4.pdf - MykoWeb

THE STIPITATE STEREUMS.
LEGEND. For some years we have been quite embarrassed by receiving many specimens of
Stereums from foreign correspondents that we could not name, as we were familiar only with the
species of Europe and the United States. During the past winter we studied by comparison, and by
microscopical sections, the various historical specimens we found named in the several museums we
visited (Kew, British Museum, Leiden, Berlin, and Paris). We found the Stereum species, as we find
all mycological sections that we investigate, in a very chaotic and confused condition, owing to the
multiplication of names and the careless and superficial work of those who have engaged in the promulgating
of so-called "new species." Particularly is this true as regards the stipitate section of the
genus, which, it appears to me, was in much worse condition (if possible) than the Apus section.
In the earliest systematic work worthy of the name, Persoon's Synopsis Fungorum
(1801), the Thelephoraceous plants, which are fungi with even hymenium, are
divided into two genera, Thelephora and Merisma. The latter embraced the species
of an encrusting nature, and while not so clearly defined is the same exactly as has
in recent years been discovered to be a "new genus" and called "Soppittiella."
The remainder of the plants which Persoon called Thelephora he divided into
three sections
Craterellus Pileus stipitate.
Stereum -Pileus dimidiate.
Corticium Resupinate.
It will be noted that the plants embraced in this pamphlet would have been
originally classed by Persoon under the sectional name Craterellus, and they may
still be so juggled with as much merit as belongs to the most of such cheap work as
is being done nowadays under the guise of "priority." In late years they have been
called Podoscypha, also without much originality, as Persoon called the same section
Craterellus.
In the usually-employed Friesian system, which is only a modification of that
of Persoon, Corticium was taken in nearly its original sense. Craterellus was restricted
to the fleshy species and did not include either of the original species, and
the remainder of the species were divided between Stereum and Thelephora.
Exactly what distinction Fries had in mind between Stereum and Thelephora, it is
hard to define. The "homogeneous" and "heterogeneous" nature of the tissue on
which he based the difference is not marked enough to be the base for generic
distinction. All of Fries' species of Stereum have hyaline spores and pale hymenium,
and most of his species of Thelephora have colored spores and dark hymenium. It
is the tendency of late years to make this the distinction between the two genera,
and in my opinion it is the best. Many of the old species classed as Thelephora
under this definition will fall into the genus Stereum.
Modern "systematists" find it to their interest, of course, to break up the old
genera into as many "new genera" as possible in order to make a lot of new names,
which is the only advantage, and of very doubtful utility. Thus Karsten in 1881
discovered that stipitate Stereums form a new genus, which he called Cotilydia.
Patouillard in 1900 discovered that the same section wa? a "nov. gen.," which he
called Podoscypha.
There is another group of "systematists" who are engaged in discovering "new
genera" on the " hairs " they find on the hymenium. Leveille was the father of these
hair experts, but he was not particular as to the kind of "hairs." Any Thelephoraceous
plant which had hairs was for Leveille a Hymenochaete, though he did not
observe the subject closely enough to know which of his own species belonged to his
"new genus." Cooke carried the matter further and divided the "hairs" into
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