re are Species of Xylaria that have no white stroma. The stem is
slender and carbonous and bears the carbonous fruit bodies, superficial,
but sessile and globose. Fries proposed for these species, the generic
name Rhizomorpha, which Saccardo united with Thamnomyces as a section of
Xylaria. In my view it is an entirely different idea from Thamnomyces
and should form a section in itself in the genus Xylaria. There are
Several species like Xylaria scopiformis that intimately connect
Rhizomorpha with Xylaria.

We believe the genus Thamnomyces, in the true sense, embraces only three
species as follows:

[Illustration: #Fig. 850.#]

THAMNOMYCES CHAMISSONIS (Fig. 850).--Stem Carbonous, black, smooth,
repeatedly dichotomously branched, the ultimate branches bearing ovate,
acute fruiting bodies. Structure of these bodies shown by Moeller is
entirely carbonous, hollow, each forming a single, carbonous
perithecium. Spores shown by different authors as of different shapes
and sizes. In our specimens they are 9 x 20-28 mic., dark, and arctuate.
They closely resemble the ordinary Xylaria spore.

This was originally named from Brazil by Ehrenberg, who gave a good
illustration of it. It has therefore escaped all synonyms, excepting by
Cooke, who discovered it was a new species and called it Thamnomyces
dendroidea. Hennings also discovered it from Africa, first as a new
variety, then as a new species, Thamnomyces camerunensis, but of course
everything that came to Hennings must be "new" something. It grows on
rotten, hard wood, and does not seem frequent in our American tropics.
In Africa, however, I judge it is more abundant as numbers of African
collections are in the museum at Berlin. We have only received it once,
at nice specimen (Fig. 850) from R. H. Bunting, Gold Coast, Africa.

[Illustration: #Fig. 851.#]

THAMNOMYCES CHORDALIS (Fig. 851).--Stem long, slender, several
proceeding from a common base, entirely carbonous, black, smooth.
Fruiting bodies (or perithecia?) sessile along the stem, ovate, with
slender apices, black. Spores oblong, arctuate, dark.

This, I believe, is only known from tropical America, but is apparently
not rare as it is recorded a number of times, mostly from Brazil. Fries
named it from French Guiana in 1830 and gave a characteristic
description of it. A co-type with the fruit mostly gone is at Kew. Later
Montagne got it also from French Guiana and gave a good figure and
description under the n