UNKNOWN HOSTS. Fiji, Waidalea River, Viti Levu Island. North Queensland, Stony Creek, near Cairns. South Australia, Penola State Forest. New South Wales, Bolaro Creek.

Hymenophore annual, coriaceous, centrally stipitate. Pilei commonly infundibuliform, with plane or flaring margins, 8-12 x 5-9 cm; pileus surface cream, soon ochre with reddish-brown, radiate, acute ridges or peripherally chestnut to umber, ridges to 3 mm tall, acute, occasionally toothed, between ridges clothed with dense tomentum forming a layer to l mm thick; margin thinning out, naked, crenate or torn; hymenial surface decurrent, cream drying ochre, radiately fluted corresponding with surface ridges. Stems cylindrical or elliptical, sometimes fluted; 4-5 em long, 5-15 mm diameter, clothed with dense tan or ochre tomentum and attached by broad mycelial discs. Context white or pallid cream, 150-750 µm; thick, a dense layer of mainly parallel hyphae bordered by a cortex of cemented intertwined hyphae from which arise the abhymenial hairs; skeletal hyphae 3-4.5 µm diameter, lumena almost capillary; generative hyphae 3-3.5 µm diameter; walls 0.2 µm thick, with clamp connections. Gloeocystidia mostly arising from the base of the subhymenium; extending to the surface but rarely projecting, fusiform or flexuous-cylindrical; sometimes inflated to 12 µm at bases, with narrow cylindrical apices, occasionally papillate, 40-65 x 5-7 µmsome arising in the context and extending to the hymenial surface, when flexuous-cylindrical, to 110 x 6 µm. Hymenial layer to 50 µm deep, a dense palisade of basidia, paraphyses, and gloeocystidia. Basidia subclavate, 24-30 x 6-7 µm, bearing 4 spores; sterigmata stout, to 5 µm long. Paraphyses subclavate, 18-26 x 4-5 µm. Spores broadly elliptical, occasionally slightly flattened on one side, apiculate, 6.5-9 x 4.5-5 µm, walls smooth, hyaline, 0.2 µm thick.

DISTRIBUTION: Southern North America, South America, West Indies, Fiji, Australia.

HABITAT: Solitary or sometimes caespitose on bark of dead branches.

From S. lamellatum the species is separated mainly by the absence of crystal-encrusted thick-walled 'cystidia' in the hymenial layer. Spores of collections listed are smaller than measurements given by Reid (1955, p. 635) for S. caperatum. He stated they were subcylindrical, 8-11 x 3-4 µm. Reid placed S. caperatum and S. lamellatum under Cymatoderma, a name which must replace Cladoderris Pers. ex Berk. for those who recognise the genus. Although Persoon (1826, p. 176) suggested the name for a specimen collected by Gaudischaud on Sarawak, he actually described it under Thelephora dendritica Pers. With a formal description Berkeley (1842, p. 152) validated Cladoderris, overlooking that earlier Junghuhn (1840, p. 290) had erected Cymatoderma with as type C. elegans Jungh. Typical specimens of Cymatoderma elegans agree closely with Stereum caperatum and C. lamellatum in microfeatures, differing mainly in shape and configuration of the hymenial surface, which is thrown into sharp, freely branched ribs with several (or none) papillae developing from, them. I am of the opinion that such features alone are insufficient upon which to base a genus and this belief is strengthened by similarity of microstructure. As the presence of a stem is scarcely of generic value, and as the hymenium of S. caperatum and S. lamellatum is either even like an ordinary stipitate Stereum; or exhibits channels corresponding with surface ridges, it is evident that this feature alone is insufficient and too variable upon which to maintain them under Cymatoderma. Gloeocystidia are commonly of the. type found in S. affine and most other stipitate species; so cannot in themselves be regarded as of generic value. Some arise more deeply in the context, are flexuous-cylindrical and penetrate to the surface of the hymenial layer; being then larger than those of the usual type. A few become inflated and thus foreshadow the larger 'cystidia' of S. lamellatum. From the cortex some generative hyphae grow out as abhymenial hairs, then becoming thick-walled and simulating skeletal hyphae, differing in that they bear occasional clamp connections. A similar condition was noted by Reid in S. lamellatum. Basidia are slow to.produce spores, which appear first towards the base of the fructification.

TYPE LOCALITY: Bahia, Brazil.