The Horse-Hair Fungi

Abstract

A peculiar fungus has recently come to the writer for determination and it was concluded that it belonged to the above named group. So far as known the horse-hair fungus or blight represents the mycelial stage of a Marasmius, based on material collected in Australia and described by Kalchbrenner as Marasmius crinis-equi (Grevillea 8: 153. 1879). Later Berkeley (Jour. Linn. Soc. 18: 383. 1883) changed the spelling of the specific name to equicrinis. original spelling, however, should be retained. There are several closely related species belonging to this category. following description of the typical species is given by T. Petch (Ann. Royal Bot. Gard. Peradeniya 6: 43-44. 1915): The mycelium of this species is the common horse-hair blight of Ceylon. It consists of a smooth, tough, black cord, from onetenth to one-eighth of a millimetre in diameter, which runs in all directions over bushes and trees, up to a height of 20 feet above the ground, attached to the living stems and leaves at intervals of one to four centimetres, or throwing out long free threads to adjacent branches. Its course is quite a random one. After proceeding along a branch for a short distance, it may leave it anld attach itself to a leaf, and after crossing several leaves may return to its original branch. Or it may travel from a branch to a leaf via the leaf stalk, and may make a complete circuit of one surface of the leaf before proceeding further. In general, the whole of the mycelium is aerial; it is not connected with any mycelium on the ground, and does not ascend the tree from the ground level. It has been observed at the base of Hevea trees, where it grows on the outer dead bark, but this is an exceptional case, and it has not been known to climb up to the leaves from that position. When the leaves die they adhere to the mycelium until they