In the herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew there file as Dothidea filicina (Fr.)Fckl., a collection N.Z. Colenso, ex Herb Berkeley. The host although unlabelled is typical of Dicksonia rosa. Berkeley (1855) records Dothidea filicina Mont. mss; -a~, 2~n the underside of fern leaves, Colenso. He noted Dr Montagne's mens are from Otaheite (Tahiti) on some species of Adiantum and forms occur in Ceylon of which a description will shortly appear in the Journal of Botany. In that the asci are short, obovate, and the obovate, uniseptate 1/2000 of an inch long. 1 have seen no fruit in New Zealand specimens but they have the same brittle stroma and rhytismoid aspect. Berkeley (1854) described Dothidea filicina Mont. mss var. nervisequia from Ceylon (G. H. K. Thwaites). He noted that this species differed in appearance from D.,pteridis Fr. (syn. Cryptomycina pteridis (Fr.) Hohnel) and was merely a form of Dr Montagne's species on Adiantum from Tahiti. He also noted that the same species occurred in New Zealand. Among species disposed by Muller and Arx under Rhagadolobium is R. nervisequium (Berk.) v. Arx based on the Ceylon material. Montagne does not appear to have published the species Dothidea filicina. Dothidea filicina Fr. refers to a different species. In the Dothidea filicina folder at Kew there are both the Ceylon collection and the collection from New Zealand. The New Zealand species on Dicksonia appears to be distinct from the Ceylon material in that loculi are larger and ascospores are smaller. Both species are characteristic of Lauterbachiella.

Ascomata on upper and lower surfaces of fern leaves, more or less circular, 13-3 mm diam., when mature entirely superficial, black, crustose, at first subcuticular, mycelium of ascomata only in contact with leaf tissue through stomata; 15-20um thick, 80 A at loculi. Outer wall of radially arranged, pigmented and agglutinated mycelium. Hypostroma of pigmented and thickened hyphae. Loculi annular or linear 60-80um diam., up to 0.5 mm Ion., covered by agglutinated mycelium which at maturity cracks and exposes hymenium. Hymenium of closely compacted asci, pseudoparaphyses absent. Asci elliptical or clavate 50-6011 X 5-8 um bitunicate, 8 spored, ascospores biseriately or uniseriately arranged. Ascospores one septate, elliptical, 9-12 X 3-3.5 um hyaline.

On living leaves of Cyathea spp. TYPE: On Alsophila gigantea Wall. ex Hook., Ceylon, Central Province, Galagaira, May, 1858 (Thwaites, 453)

Part of the type of R. bakerianum labelled Fungi Malayana CF. Baker 282'' in the Kew herbarium has been examined. Saccardo (1916) gives the type locality as Mt Maquiling, Philippines Is., April 1915 (Baker 3841); also in Kew but filed under Pachypatella alsophilae there is a collection labelled Fungi Malayana CF. Baker 569, Pachypatella alsophilae (Rac.) Theiss. & Syd. on Cyathea caudata, Mt Maquiling summit, near Los Banos, Prov. Laguna, June, 1914, Det. Sydew. Both these collections appear to be on the same host and from the same place but collected at different times. Examination of this material has shown the two to be collections of the same fungus. Since Sydow (1915) listed this species as Pachypatella alsophilae it is no wonder that he (Sydow, 1922) regarded Rhagadolobium bakerianum as a synonym of Pachypatella alsophilae.

Unfortunately the type of P. alsophilae has not been examined but in the species description no mention is made of the pseudoparaphyses which are always present in the hymenium of Rhagadolobium bakerianum. Therefore Rhagadolobium bakerianum is regarded as a distinct species; no doubt Pachypatella alsophilae is congeneric with it.

R. bakerianum differs from R. hemiteliae in that fructifications are larger, the ascomata is always well developed, and each loculus is formed in a separate tubercle; ascospores are larger and pseudoparaphyses are always present in the hymenium

Epiphyllous or hypophyllous on living leaves of Cyathea spp.