The North American Pyrenomycetes: A contribution to Mycological Botany

Pp. iii, 793; 41 tinted lithographed plates by F. W. Anderson with explanatory text leaves.  Early tan cloth, lettered in gilt on the spine, thick 8vo.  Pyrenomycetes are also known as Sordariomycetes is from the Greek “the stone of a fruit” - because of the usually somewhat tough texture of their tissue (from Wiki).  The Preface states “ In the present state of mycological knowledge, the classification of North American Pyrenomycetes is attended with many difficulties; chief which is the fact that many of the published diagnoses are too imperfect to enable one to recognize the species, of which many of the types are either lost or practically inaccessible. Our knowledge of these species is derived from the brief descriptions in Grevillea and the supplementary notes by Dr. M.C. Cooke, who has also examined and determined, by comparison with the original types, many of the species included in the present work."  This work was privately published by the authors in a limited edition.  See also Stafleu and Cowan, 1660; Volbracht, 541.  Rare work.