A.Spores umber.a.Sporangia wholly indeterminate, their walls much consolidated below, fraying out above into long, slender threads,1. Reticulariab.Sporangia bounded, more or less distinctly, by broad perforate plates throughout2. EnteridiumB.Spores ochraceous3. Dictydiæthalium
1. Reticularia(Bull.)Rost.
Plasmodium at first white, then pink, 'ashes of roses,' etc. Sporangia wholly indeterminate or undefined, their walls represented (?) by a spongy mass of so-called capillitium, consisting of membranous plates, branching, anastomosing, vanishing without order or symmetry, generally giving rise at the sides, and especially above, to long slender flexuous threads; outer cortex silvery white; hypothallus distinct, white; spore-mass and threads umber or rusty brown.
A single species,—
1.Reticularia lycoperdon(Bull.)Rost.
Plate X., Figs. 7, 7a;Plate XII., Fig. 3.
Æthalium pulvinate, 2–8 cm. broad, at first silvery white, later less lustrous, the cortex irregularly and slowly deciduous; hypothallus at first conspicuous as a white margin extending round the entire aethalium, evanescent without, but persisting as a firm membrane beneath the spore-mass, pseudo-capillitium abundant, tending to form erect central masses which persist long after the greater part of the fruit has been scattered by the winds; spore-mass umber, spores by transmitted light pale, reticulate over about two-thirds of the surface, the remainder slightly warted, 8–9 µ.
Not common. Often confused with the following, the spores of the two forms being very much alike; the internal structure, entirely different, and once compared, the two are thereafter easily distinguished at sight by external characters. The sporangial make-up is indifferent, confused. It represents a phase in development whence might issue columellæ with capillitium-branches or distinct tubular sporangia with persisting walls; or are such structures here but reminiscent only? CompareAmaurochaete atra, where similar conditions prevail. There differentiation goes on to the formation of a structure of whichStemonitisis type; here the sporangium-wall becomes dominant; suffers modification for spore-disposal, an idea reaching fair expression inCribrariaandDictydium.
The plasmodium is white, noted Bulliard. Fries cites with approval the words of Schweinitz,—"color corticis ab initio argenteussericeo nitore insignis; sed deinde sordescit e griseo in subfuscum vergens." Sometimes the surface does indeed shine as silver!
The fructification appears to be isolated in each case; the entire plasmodium consumed in a single plasmodiocarp.
Widely distributed. Maine to California, and south.
2. EnteridiumEhrenberg
Fructification æthalioid; the confluent sporangia inextricably interwoven, the walls perforate by large openings, the resultant network of broad plates and bands widening at the points of intersection.
The genusEnteridiumis distinguished fromReticulariachiefly by the more perfectly developed sporangial walls. These are everywhere membranous and do not show the abundant filiform dissipation so characteristic ofReticularia. The resultant structure inReticulariais a mass of more or less lengthened and anastomosing threads; inEnteridium, an exceedingly delicate but sufficiently persistent sponge. The "net-like, three-winged skeleton" referred to by Rostafinski results from the union at one point of three adjoining sporangia. Compare the section of the adjoining cells of a honeycomb.
Of this genus there are but two or three species, all so far occurring in our territory.
Key to the Species of Enteridium
A.Fructification umber brown1.E. splendensB.Fructification olivaceous2.E. olivaceumC.Fructification minute, 1–2 mm.3.E. minutum
1.Enteridium splendensMorg.
Plate I., Figs. 1, 1a, 1b;Plate XII., Figs. 4, 5.
Æthalium pulvinate, even, or somewhat irregular, unevenly swollenor inflated, lobate or compound, covered by an exceedingly thin, generally smooth, shining, but never white, pellicle or cortex, brown, from 1–6 cm. in diameter; hypothallus white, often wide extending; capillitium none; the sporangial walls thin and brown forming a network as above described; spore-mass umber, spores by transmitted light pale, about two-thirds of the surface reticulate, the rest nearly smooth, 7–9 µ.
Very common, especially west, on decaying logs and stumps of every description. Easily distinguished by its brown color and smooth, shining, though uneven surface. The plasmodium as it emerges to form fruit is pale pink or flesh color, slowly deepening to brown as maturity advances. The first emergence is a watery white.
New England, Canada, to Minnesota and Nebraska, South Dakota.
In 1876 Rostafinski provisionally referred to the genusReticulariacertain specimens received from M. Roze of Paris. Thirteen years later in correspondence with M. Roze, Mr. Wingate satisfied himself that the specimens discovered by Roze were the same as our common enteridium. He therefore,l. c., applied to our American forms the name they have widely borne,E. rozeanum. Mr. Lister,Jour. of Botany, Sept. '91, applied the Rostafinskian name tocertainEnglish specimens. Thereafter to be known asReticularia lobataRost. and so fixed the status of that species. From all the literature before us it appears that Mr. Lister was right.R. lobataList. (nowLiceopsis lobataList.) Torr., occurs in various parts of Europe, while our American species ofEnteridiumis yet to be discovered on that side of the sea!
Were the latter native to the old world at all, it had surely been seen long ago. It is large and fine, and could not have escaped the famous collectors of the last two hundred years. Although it has been sent by students from this side of the ocean to Europe for more than thirty years, it has not even adventitiously appeared.
It therefore appears that our American species is known to Europe through Mr. Wingate's reference only.
Twenty years ago in correspondence with Mr. Wingate it was learned that the material received by him from M. Roze was buta small fragment, crushed flat, and even this was at that time no longer in evidence. This specimen was itselfnot part of the gathering submitted to Rostafinski; but only the fragment of somethingappearing in 1890 in the same locality!
. . . . "something not the same,But only like its forecast in men's dreams."
. . . . "something not the same,But only like its forecast in men's dreams."
When we further reflect that the spores of species of several of the forms now in review,Tubifera,Reticularia,Enteridium, are not without difficulty distinguished, it is easy to see that Mr. Wingate's specific reference has narrow foundations to say the least. It seems now likely that Father Torrend'sLiceopsis,Reticulara lobataR., M. Roze's aftermath, and all, are but the depauperate forms of some tubifera!
E. rozeanum Wing., is therefore the synonym for an ill-defined something in Western Europe and need not further here concern us as far material reference goes.
In any case, what induced Mr. Wingate to pull Rostafinski's uncertain description of a problematic form across the sea, to attach it to our clearly defined and well known American species, changing the Polish description the while to make it fit, is hard to understand; especially in view of the fact, by Wingate admitted, that Rex had in his letters to Morgan already named the American typeEnteridium umbrinum. The two students differed as to generic reference, and later on Morgan publishedReticularia splendensMorg.; rather thanR. umbrina(Rex) Morg. because he was usingR. umbrinaFr. for what is generally known asR. lycoperdon(Bull.)
It would then appear that when Wingate sought to impose the Rostafinskian specific name upon our American form by changing (fixing!) Rostafinski's generic reference, and by re-writing the specific description from the pages of theMonographin order to claim identity, he was entirely without justification, especially since he knew the species appropriately named by his colleague, Dr. Rex, and had the name as used in the Rex and Morgan correspondence.
In brief; Mr. Wingate proceeded to re-describe Rostafinski's rozean specimen and referred a long-known American form (very different) to the European specimen as type. Wingate's description is right;he had the American material before him; but his cited type is worthless, an entirely different thing.
Does the reader care to see what the Europeantypeof our common form, Wingateteste, really looks like, let him consult theJour. of Botany, Vol. XXIX., p. 263, 1891.
2.Enteridium olivaceumEhr.
Æthalium depressed flat, oval or elongate, .3 cm. in extent, .6 mm. thick when fresh, glossy, smooth, greenish-olivaceous-brown; within a spongy net-work representing sporangial walls which are thin, pale olivaceous, perforate by circular openings, meshes surrounded by wide plates; spores in clusters, six or more together, ovoid, distinctly warted at the wider end, pale olivaceous, 9–11 µ.
This, the type of the genus, is a very distinct species of this by its structure readily distinguished form. Fries thought the species might represent a less perfectly-developed reticularia, and therefore wroteReticularia olivaceanoting, however, the clustered spores and the lack of hypothallus.
Common, as would appear, in Europe and in S. America; rare with us. Reported from N. Hampshire and we have one specimen from Colorado.
3.Enteridium minutumSturg.
Æthalia rounded or elongate, pulvinate, pale umber in color, seated on a broad membranous base, 1.5–2 mm. in diameter; wall wrinkled and usually marked with small scattered pits, pale-yellow, membranous; walls of component sporangia, membranous, minutely roughened, perforated with round openings, the margins of which show many free threads; or reduced to irregular, anastomosing strands arising from the base of the æthalium, with membranous or net-like expansions at the angles and with many delicate, free, pointed ends. Spores pale-yellow, usually united in twos or threes,and ovoid or flattened on one side; when free, globose, very minutely spinulose, 9.5–10.5.
Colorado:Dr. Sturgis.
3. DictydiæthaliumRostafinski
Æthalium depressed, flat; the sporangia erect, regular, prismatic by mutual pressure, the peridia convex above, wanting at the sides and within the æthalium represented by vertical threads marking the angles and passing from base to summit.
This genus is readily recognized by the internal structure of the æthalium. The lateral wall-openings, which, as we have seen, characterize the sporangia of the preceding genus, here become extreme, occupying to such extent the lateral wall-space of each sporangium that only threads remain to mark the vertical angles.
In 1873 Rostafinski applied the generic name here adopted, because he thought he discovered close relationships withDictydium. In 1875, believing his first impressions erroneous, and desirous that the nomenclature might not at once mislead the student and perpetuate the memory of his own mistake, the same author proposed the name by which the genus has generally ever since been known—Clathroptychium. However sensible the latter conclusion reached by our Polish author, it is plainly contrary to all rules of priority.
Our region shows but a single widely distributed species,—
1.Dictydiaethalium plumbeum(Schum.)Rost.
Plate I., Figs. 2, 2a, 2b.
Æthalium thin, very flat, olivaceous or ochraceous, smooth, under the lens punctate, in section showing the columnar or prismatic sporangia, which are normally six-sided, having at the edges six simplethreads, the remains of peridium, extending from base to apex, where the peridium remains intact, arcuate; hypothallus prominent, radiating far around the æthalium, silvery white; spores in mass, ochraceous, or dull brownish yellow, by transmitted light almost colorless, rough 9–10 µ.
Not rare, on decaying logs, especially ofTilla americana, where in the same place successive fructifications follow each other sometimes for weeks together in the latter part of summer and early fall. The æthalium is generally elliptical or elongate, 2–3 cm. in extent, sometimes irregular or branched, varying in color according to degree of maturity, weathering, etc. Plasmodium at first watery, then pink, or flesh-colored.
Eastern United States; common. Toronto;—Miss Currie.
E.CRIBRARIACEÆ
Sporangia distinct, more or less closely gregarious, stipitate, the peridium opening, especially above, by a well-defined network formed from thickenings in the original sporangial wall.
Key to the Genera of the Cribrariaceæ
A.Peridial thickenings in form of an apical net with definite thickenings at the intersections of the component threads1.CribrariaB.Peridial thickenings in form of parallel meridional ribs connected by delicate transverse threads2.Dictydium
Cribraria(Pers)Schrader.
Sporangia distinct, gregarious or closely crowded, globose or obovoid, stipitate; the stipe of very varying length; the peridium simple, marked within by distinct and peculiar, granular, thickenings, which below take the form of radiating ribs, supporting the persisting cup,calyculus, and above, by extremely delicate anastomosing branches, unite to weave a more or less regular net with open polygonal meshes; spores various, more often yellowish or ochraceous, sometimes brown, reddish, or purple.
The genusCribraria, as limited by Persoon, included all forms in which the peridium is thin, evanescent half-way down, or entirely, and in which capillitium, as Persoon regarded the case, is formed of a network of reticulate threads surrounding the spores. Schrader redefined the genus; opposed Persoon's view as to the capillitial nature of the net, and separated the genusDictydium, but by imperfect limitations,—in fact, chiefly because of the more completely evanescent peridium. Fries follows Schrader. Rostafinski first clearly separated the two genera, and his classification is here adopted. Nevertheless, after reviewing the subject entire one is more and more inclined to appreciate the commendation of Fries; "Auctor Schrader, qui insuper plurimas species detexit, et hoc et sequens genus ita proposuit ut sequentes vix aliquid addere valuerint."
As to the habitat of the cribrarias, the remark of Schrader is still pertinent—"in vetustissimis plenariæ destructionis proximis arborum truncis"—for all the species. Rotten, coniferous wood seems to be preferred, but the decayed logs of trees of other orders are by no means refused. Rotten oak forms a very common habitat.
Key to the Species of Cribraria
A.Sporangia with spores ochraceous or brownish.a.Sporangia larger, .5 mm. or more.1. Net poorly developed, sometimes merely indicated1.C. argillacea2. Net conspicuous, nodes expanded, not swollen.i. Calyculus reticulately thickened, ill-defined above2.C. macrocarpaii. Calyculus with radiant lines or ribs; net small-meshed; free ends none6.C. aurantiacaiii. Net wide-meshed, calyx rufous4.C. rufaiv. Calyx replaced by ribs5.C. splendens3. Net conspicuous, nodules swollen.i. Net-threads simple; free ends many7.C. dictydioidesii. Net-threads often parallel in twos or threes8.C. intricatab.Sporangia small, less than .5 mm.1. Nodes not expanded3.C. minutissima2. Nodes well shown.i. Calyculus distinctly marked by radiant lines, nodes round10.C. tenellaii. Calyculus minute or none; nodes prominent11.C. microcarpaB.Sporangia more or less marked with purple or violet tints.a.Purple or violet throughout.1. Net poorly developed12.C. violacea2. Net well developed.i. Meshes regular and the nodes distinct14.C. elegansii. Meshes and nodules irregular13.C. purpureab.Purple tints confined chiefly to plasmodic granules on thecalyculusand stipe.Net with nodes well expanded.i. Stipe short, not more than double the sporangium; net and calyculus both well developed9.C. piriformisii. Stipe many times the sporangium, weak15.C. languescensiii. Stipe slender, sporangium copper-colored16.C. cuprea
1.Cribraria argillaceaPers.
Plate XII., Figs. 12, 13;Plate XVII., Fig. 1.
Sporangia dull ochraceous-olivaceous, globose, nearly 1 mm. in diameter, sessile or short stipitate, closely gregarious or crowded, the peridial walls at maturity smooth, shining, except above, long persistent, obscurely reticulate, with irregular thickenings which at the apex at length present the appearance of an irregular, coarsely meshed net without nodal thickenings; stipe very short, stout, erect, reddish brown, spore-mass ochraceous, spores by transmitted light pale, spinulose, 5–6 µ.
This species stands just on the border-line between the tubiferas and the genus now before us. While on the one hand it possesses many characters such as the habit, form of sporangium, which are distinctly tubuline, on the other it shows in the upper peridial wall definite reticulations which suggestCribraria. In freshly formed sporangia the reticulations are barely visible in the crown; later on they are more manifest, until, as spore-dispersal proceeds; the cribraria characters come out with sufficient distinctness, and in empty sporangia the reticulations may be seen to affect the entire peridial wall. Thenodes are not expanded. The spores are pale by transmitted light, spinulose, about 6 µ. Plasmodium lead-colored. Found sometimes in large patches on rotten logs of various species. Not uncommon. Cf.Lindbladia effusa.
New England, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Washington; Canada.
2.Cribraria macrocarpaSchrader.
Plate XVII., Fig. 2.
Sporangia more or less closely gregarious, yellowish brown, pear-shaped or obovate, large, .8–1 mm. in diameter, stipitate; stipe brown furrowed, erect or often nodding, about equal to the sporangium or longer; calyculus distinct, marked by numerous dark brown radiating ribs, iridescent, perforate above, deeply dentate, and merging gradually into the elegant network, of which the dark nodes are more distinctly expanded about half way up, less so at the apex and below, the filaments exceedingly delicate, simple, with occasional free ends projecting into the small meshes; spore-mass yellowish, spores by transmitted light almost colorless, minutely roughened, 5–6 µ.
Perhaps the most striking characteristic of the present species, aside from its large size, is the peculiarly perforated cup or calyculus. Schrader's artist failed him here completely. The structure is exceedingly delicate, the peridium between the ribs and reticulations reduced to the last degree of tenuity, with the iridescence of the soap-bubble, here and there lapsed entirely. Withal the structure seems firm enough and persists until all the spores are dissipated by the wind.
Easily distinguished from the preceding, its only rival in size, by the obovate or turbinate, netted sporangium, its much longer stem, and flat, perfectly formed nodes.
Rare. New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oregon; Toronto, Canada.
3.Cribraria minutissimaSchweinitz.
Plate XVII., Figs. 6, 6a.
Sporangia scattered, orange or nut-brown, very minute, .1–.3 mm. or less, globose or ellipsoidal, stipitate, erect or nodding; hypothallus none; stipe short, 1–3 times the sporangium, filiform, tapering upward, brown; the calyculus variable, sometimes well marked and separated from the net when fully mature, by a shallow constriction, more commonly small or entirely wanting, especially in the spherical sporangia; net simple, large meshed, without nodal expansions, the threads flattened; spore-mass yellow, spores by transmitted light, pale, nearly smooth, 5–6 µ.
A most beautiful tiny species. Generally in all the specimens before us, a perfect, spherical net, firm enough to retain its place and structure after all the spores have been scattered. When mature the spore-mass seems to roll about as a ball, freely within the net, the spores being thus gradually dispersed. The calyculus when present is without veins.C. minimaBerk. & C., andC. microscopicaBerk. & C. are doubtless the same thing.Grev., II., p. 67, 1823. See alsoBot. Gaz., XIX., 397.
Rare. Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Missouri, Iowa; Black Hills, South Dakota.
4.Cribraria rufa(Roth)Rost.
Plate XIX., Fig. 8.
Sporangia scattered, sub-globose or turbinate, dark or reddish orange, .5–.7 mm. in diameter, erect, stipitate; stipe about equalling the height of the sporangium or longer, dark brown or black; calyculus one-third to one-half the sporangium, the margin toothed, the wall ribbed and continuous with the open wide-meshed net; the network deep yellow or orange, the threads flattened; the nodes not thickened, little differentiated; spores concolorous, by transmitted light, pale yellow, verruculose, 5–7 µ.
Similar to the preceding, but generally much larger and not so much inclined to brown. The size, however, is extremely variable in sporangia from the same plasmodium (reported white), some no larger than those of the species reckoned most minute.
Oregon.Professor Morton Peck.
5.Cribraria splendens(Schrader)Rost.
Plate XIX., Fig. 10.
Sporangia gregarious, globose, dusky yellow when filled with spores, dull or dusky brown when these are discharged, stipitate; stipe long, 3–4 times the sporangium, subulate, erect-nodding, brown; hypothallus none; network brown, with large meshes, imperfectly defined nodes and flattened threads; calyculus none, its place supplied by nine or ten distinct, firm ribs which radiate from the stipe and support the net, branching to blend with its reticulations; spore-mass yellow, spores by transmitted light, colorless, smooth or nearly so, 6–7.5 µ.
Of this species two specimens only are before us, one from Muscatine County, Iowa, and one from Washington (state). The species seems thus to have wide range, but to be exceedingly rare. It differs from all other American forms, so far described, in the peculiar development of the calyculus. Rostafinski emphasizes the persistence of the peridial wall and the peculiar gleaming of the metallic tints, displayed by all the structures. These particulars we have not been able to verify. Such characters may be incident to age or conditions of development. At all events, in forms which in all other respects seem to agree exactly with Rostafinski's descriptions, the colors are dull and without any noticeable iridescence. The spores in our specimens are also a little larger than quoted. Rostafinski gives 5–6 µ; Massee, 5–7 µ.
6.Cribraria aurantiacaSchrader.
Plate XVII., Fig. 3, andXIX., Fig. 7.
Sporangia gregarious, spherical, dusky or yellowish stipitate, nodding;the calyculus variable, generally prominent, more or less distinctly marked by fine, delicate radiating venules, the margin denticulate, the teeth numerous and slender, supporting the well-defined globose net; network made up of very tenuous threads, forming rather small irregular brownish nodules and showing only here and there a free extremity; stipe generally short, two or three times the diameter of the sporangium, sometimes longer, tapering upward, brown, slender, arcuate above; spore-mass yellow or ochraceous, spores by transmitted light, colorless, 5–6 µ, almost smooth.
This widely distributed and very variable species is generally recognized by the large sporangia, .5–.9 mm., comparatively short stipe, simple net, and more or less orange color. The color is an uncertain thing even in the sporangia, which rise from one plasmodium. Schrader, however, made this feature so far diagnostic that he placed the more pronouncedly yellow forms in the speciesC. aurantiacaand set off asC. vulgarisforms in which more dusky tints prevail. The dark-colored forms have also usually longer stipes, but so much is dependent upon the climatic conditions prevalent at the time of fruiting, that this feature also is indeterminate. Rostafinski's figures, 21 and 26, Tab. II., show the characteristic nodules and the typical net structure. It is to be observed that Fig. 21 represents higher magnification; otherwise the two figures are very much alike.
New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and South, Ohio, Washington, California; Canada, Toronto.
7.Cribraria dictydioidesCke. & Balf.
Plate I., Figs. 5, 5a, 5b, andXIX., 6, 6a, 6b.
Sporangia gregarious, of medium size, globose, cernuous, stipitate; the stipe long, slender, tapering upwards, dull brown in color; hypothallus none; the calyculus variable, sometimes well developed, as inC. aurantiaca, sometimes rudimentary or represented only by irregular, node-like ribs; the network delicate, the meshes small, few-sided; the nodules large, prominent, brown, irregular, with several radiating, free, projecting threads, beside the single continuous filamentswhich pass from node to node; spore-mass pale, ochraceous; spores nearly smooth, colorless, 5–7 µ.
This seems to be the most commonCribrariain the Mississippi valley. It is generally distinguished by the scant calyculus and the beautiful richness of its clear delicate net. The stellate nodules especially above, emit filamental rays in all directions, but are, notwithstanding, united by single, unpaired threads only. The calyculus is often entirely absent, and this has been supposed the typical condition; but, on the contrary, there often may present itself a cup as distinct as inC. aurantiaca. See, for this variation,Bot. Gaz.XIX., p. 398. The rather large sporangia, .6–.7 mm., the nodes joined by single threads, the remaining radiant threads, many or few, but very short—these seem to be the most distinctly diagnostic characters, and these are sufficiently constant to separate this species easily fromC. intricataon the one hand andC. tenellaon the other. Mr. Lister considers this merely a form of the next species.
Abundant on rotten logs of every sort, especially oak; common on the lower side of rotting pine planks in wooden walks along the streets everywhere. N. A. F., 2095, seems to belong here.
Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska.
8.Cribraria intricata(Schrad.)Rost.
Sporangia gregarious, globose, large, .7–1 mm. in diameter, nut-brown or olivaceous, erect, stipitate; stipe long, slender, purplish brown, flexuous; calyculus variable, sometimes occupying one-third of the sphere, when it is delicately costate, concolorous with the stipe, and passes over to the net by a distinctly toothed or serrulate margin, sometimes represented by irregular ribs or costæ only; net well differentiated, the threads delicate, transparent, yellow, connecting large black nodules, running from one to the other in pairs or sometimes three together, free ends not numerous, the meshes few-sided, often triangular; spores in mass, dull olivaceous, under the lens pallid, nearly smooth, 6–7 µ.
A very rare species, if indeed it occur in this country. At leastthe form figured by Rostafinski, Tab. II., Fig. 27, and Massee, Pl. 1, Fig. 11, has not come to our notice. The parallelism of the net threads is a touch added by Rostafinski; Schrader does not mention it. Lister makes this species include the preceding. The form described inBull. Lab. Nat. Hist. Ia.II., p. 119, isC. dictydioides.
Reported from New York, New England and Pennsylvania.
In the EnglishMonographwe are repeatedly assured that this species is common in the United States. The statement is made possible only by the inclusion of the form originally described from America and truly abundant east of the Rocky Mountains,C. dictydioidesCke. & Balf.;C. intricata, by all accounts, just as preeminently the species of Europe. It is true that Schrader did not emphasize the parallel connecting threads by which later authorities distinguish the form; he had little occasion so to do, even did his figures intend accuracy in each detail, which they did not, and Rostafinski's, though his drawing is a diagram, certainly knew what he was doing. Cooke, in his list for Great Britain, quotes the Polish text without dissent, and Massee follows and illustrates; so that there can be no doubt as to what the European species is.
In any cribraria the presence or relative obsolesence, of the calyculus is of little taxonomic import since that structure is variable in every species. In the latest edition of Mr. Lister's work, the American form is entered as a variety in "hot-houses"; apparently adventitious; it is indeed related to the European form but is a geographic species.
9.Cribraria piriformisSchrader.
Plate XVII., Fig. 9;Plate XIX., Fig. 9.
Sporangia gregarious, small, .3–.5 mm., turbinate or globose, erect, purplish brown, stipitate; stipe comparatively short, tapering upward, longitudinally furrowed, purple or brown; calyculus very well defined, about one-third the sporangium, not ribbed, flattened or even umbilicate below, the margin plainly denticulate, dusky brown; the net simple, the meshes large, triangular, with few free ends; thenodules small, globose or undifferentiated, slightly convex or flat; spore mass dull, yellowish brown; spores by transmitted light pale ochraceous or salmon-tinted, nearly smooth, 5–6 µ.
Schrader defined this beautiful form chiefly by its shape. This, though variable, is yet generally so far pyriform as to show distinct contraction toward the stipe. The well-defined calyculus is narrowed below and eroded or denticulate above. The cyanic tints due to the presence on the calyculus of radiating lines of purplish granules about one-half the size of the spores, the net open, uniform, the stipe rather stout, short, and distinctly furrowed, rising often from a small hypothallus—these are marks of this species. The net suggestsC. tenella, but the latter species is much smaller, has a different stem, much longer and unfurrowed. The cup here is more nearly that of some form ofC. intricata, but is better defined, passing into the net very abruptly by the simple intervention of projecting teeth.
Apparently rare. Our specimens are from New York, through the courtesy of Dr. Rex, Virginia, North Carolina, Iowa, Oregon, Colorado, and represent, as usual a modification of the European type,C. notabilisRex. Miss Lister,Mon., 2nd ed., writes var.notabilis.
Colorado forms are remarkable for dense brown coloration.
10.Cribraria tenellaSchrader.
Plate XVII., Fig. 5.
Sporangia gregarious, small, .3–.5 mm. in diameter or smaller, olivaceous or ochraceous, long-stipitate, nodding; stipe slender, dark brown or blackish, very long, reaching 6 mm., weak and flexuous; calyculus variable, sometimes well defined, brown, costate, sometimes represented by the costæ only connected by a thin, transparent membrane; net well differentiated, the meshes small, irregular, the nodes small, black, more or less globular, prominent, connected by transparent threads with occasional or a few free ends; spores in mass, olivaceous-ochraceous, under the lens pallid, globose, smooth, 5–7 µ.
Very common eastward and south, on the weathered surface of rotten wood. Generally easily recognized by its very long stipe,small, globose sporangium dotted with numerous small roundish nodules projecting plainly above the general surface. The obconic calyculus is always represented in the outline if not in definite structure.
New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Canada; Toronto,—Miss Currie.
11.Cribraria microcarpa(Schrad.)Persoon.
Plate XVII., Fig. 4.
Sporangia loosely gregarious, very small, .2–.3 mm. in diameter, yellow ochraceous, stipitate, nodding; stipe comparatively stout, dark brown or blackish, tapering upward, often twisted at the apex as inD. cancellatum; calyculus none, represented by simple ribs which give off at intervals free or floating branchlets before blending into the common net; net well developed, the meshes large, the nodes small, irregular, though often rounded and prominent, black, connected by delicate transparent threads, with free ends few or none; spore-mass yellow, fading to ochraceous; spores pale, smooth, globose, 6–7 µ.
This species resembles at first sight the preceding, and has been often mistaken for it. As a matter of fact, the distinctions are generally very sharp. In the first place, the sporangia, when carefully measured, are seen to be not more than half as great in diameter; the meshes of the net, on the other hand, are much wider, the whole structure more compact. The nodules are like those oftenella, but are much fewer. The stipe is shorter, the cup wanting, and the costæ are few and simple. The color suggestsC. aurantiaca. The habitat and distribution asC. tenella.
To anyone who will read the account of the species as given by the EnglishMon., 2nd ed., p. 183, it is immediately apparent thatthe author has in mind a different form from that seen and described in our territory and previously noted by the authors of Europe. These from Schrader down, agree in portraying a brunescent form with yellow spores; Mr. Lister enters it with the cyanic series and so describes and figures it throughout. Schrader figures a nut-brown species; Rostafinski uses that descriptive term in connection with the general appearance when fresh, but gives the spore-mass yellow; only in the stipe does he find another tint, nut-brown-purple. The figure, 145 in theMonographnow before us portrays, except in color, ourC. tenellaexactly. Dr. Rex,Bot. Gaz., XIX., 398, compares the present species withC. minutissima, andC. tenellawithC. dictydioides; which is correct for the American presentation of the species named.C. dictydioidesis certainly our presentation ofC. intricata, a geographic species at the least; but ifC. microcarpais purple we have of it no representation; our forms under that name are closely related toC. tenella, a yellow-spored species, and might perhaps be there referred; have, however, somewhat larger spores.
12.Cribraria violaceaRex.
Plate XVII., Fig. 8.
Sporangia scattered or gregarious, very small, .2 mm. in diameter, violet tinted, erect, stipitate short, about one-half the total height, concolorous, slender, tapering upward; calyculus crateriform, persistent, or marked with minute plasmodic granules; the net rudimentary or poorly developed, the meshes large, irregular, the nodules also large triangular, violaceous; spores pale violet in mass, by transmitted light reddish, 7–8 µ, minutely warted.
A very minute but well-marked species discovered by Dr. Rex in Wissahickon Park, near Philadelphia, otherwise very rare. Lister, however, reports it from England. In minuteness to be compared withC. minutissima, from which its color instantly distinguishes it. Dr. Rex reports the plasmodium as "violet black." All our specimens are on very rotten wood, basswood,Tilia americana.
Pennsylvania, Illinois, Iowa.
13.Cribraria purpureaSchrad.
Sporangia gregarious, large, 1 mm. in diameter, dark purple, erect, stipitate, depressed-globose; stipe concolorous, furrowed, about twice the diameter of the sporangium in length, with a distinct hypothallus; calyculus persistent, less than half the sporangium, obscurely ribbed, marked by concentric plications, the margin toothed; the net poorly differentiated, the meshes irregular in form and size, as are also the flat, unthickened nodes, the threads pale, free ends short and not numerous; spore-mass purple; spores by transmitted light, pale or colorless, 5–6 µ, smooth.
Rare. Found on rotten coniferous wood in deep forests. Easily recognized by its large size and uniform purple color. To the next species it offers a general resemblance, but has larger sporangia and an entirely different net. The plasmodium just before the formation of the fruit is scarlet.
Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, Ontario, Oregon, Colorado.
14.Cribraria elegansBerk. & C.
Sporangia gregarious, erect or nodding, small, .4–.5 mm., bright purple, stipitate; stipe long, slender, tapering upward, almost black, arising from a scanty hypothallus; calyculus about half the sporangium, finely ribbed, covered especially above with small purple granules, the margin toothed or perforate; net well developed, the meshes small, polygonal, the threads delicate, colorless, with many free ends, the nodules dark-colored, numerous and somewhat prominent; spore-mass pale purple; spores by transmitted light pale violaceous, smooth, 6–6.5 µ.
To be compared with the preceding. The small-meshed net with well-defined, dark-colored nodules is distinctive, aside from the fact of the much smaller sporangia. The stipe is also different, more slender, smooth, and dark-colored. The habitat of the two species appears to be the same. The present species is much more common, ranges farther west, and is to be looked for on the Pacific coast.
New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Missouri, Iowa; Black Hills, South Dakota.
15.Cribraria languescensRex.
Sporangia scattered, very minute, .25–.35 mm., spherical, long-stipitate, drooping; stipe 2.5–3 mm., slender, flexuous, subulate, rugulose; calyculus about one-third the sporangium, reddish brown, shining, minutely striate with granular lines, the margin more or less regularly serrate; net reddish brown, the meshes triangular and the threads simple, the nodes large, polygonal, flat, but well differentiated; the spores when fresh dull red in mass, paling with age; by transmitted light colorless, 6 µ, smooth.
A very singular species, easily recognizable by its long, slender stipes, terminating in exceedingly small spherical sporangia. The colors are obscure, but the striations on the calyculus are violet-tinted, and the reds perhaps predominate elsewhere. "In its scattered and solitary growth, its tall, slender stipes, and relaxed habit it resemblesC. microcarpa, in its network it approachesC. tenella, and its spores have the color of the paler form ofC. purpurea." So Dr. Rex,l. c.Western forms of the first-named species have much shorter stipes; the network in the specimens before us is unlike that ofC. tenella, but resembles that ofC. purpurea.
Rare, on very rotten wood, in the forest. New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Ontario.
16.Cribraria cupreaMorgan.
Plate XVII., Fig. 7.
Sporangium very small, .33 mm., oval or somewhat obvoid, copper-colored, stipitate, nodding; stipe concolorous or darker below, subulate, curved at the apex, 2–4 times the sporangium; calyculus about one-half the sporangium, finely ribbed and granulose within, the margin nearly even; the net rather rudimentary, the meshes large, triangular or quadrilateral, the nodules also large, flat, concolorous, the threads slender, transparent, with free ends few; spores in mass copper-colored, by transmitted light colorless, smooth, 6–7 µ.
Recognizable by its small size and peculiar color, that of bright copper, although this fades somewhat with age, and the metallic tints are then lacking. Related to the preceding and in specimens having globular sporangia closely resembling it; but the ground color inC. languescensis always darker, and the stipe proportionally much longer. In habit the sporangia are widely scattered, much more than is common in the species of this genus. Miss Lister,2nd ed.regards this as a var. of No. 15.
Comparatively rare. Before us is one very small colony of sporangia from Iowa, one from Ohio, and a large number from Missouri. If one may judge from the material at hand, the favorite habitat is very rotten basswood,Tilia americana.
2. Dictydium(Schrad.)Rost.
Sporangia distinct, gregarious, globose or depressed-globose, stipitate, cernuous; the peridium very delicate, evanescent, thickened on the inside by numerous meridional costæ which are joined at frequent intervals by fine transverse threads more or less parallel to each other, forming a persistent network of rectangular meshes.
The ribs or costæ of the spore-case radiate from the top of the stipe and unite again at the top of the sporangium in a feeble, irregular net. Schrader,Nov. Gen. Pl., p. 11, 1797, applied the nameDictydiumto allCribraria-like species in which the calyculus was wanting. Fries follows this,Syst. Myc., III., p. 164. Rostafinski,Versuch, p. 5,Mon., p. 229, first correctly limits the genus and separates it fromCribraria. 1873–75.
A single species is widely distributed throughout the world,—
1.Dictydium cancellatum(Batsch)Macbr.
Plate I., Figs. 6, 6aandPlate XIX., Figs. 1, 1a, 1b, 1c, 2, 3.
Sporangia gregarious, depressed globose, nodding, the apex atlength umbilicate, stipitate, in color brown, or brownish purple; the stipe varying much in length from two to ten times the diameter of the sporangium, attaining 5–6 mm., generally erect, more or less twisted and pallid at the apex, below dark brown, with hypothallus small or none; calyculus often wanting, when present a mere film connecting the ribs of the net; the net made up chiefly of meridional ribs connected at intervals by transverse parallel threads, above an openCribraria-like network closing the apex and more or less rudimentary; the spores varying in color through all shades of brown and purple when seen in mass, by transmitted light reddish, 5–7 µ, smooth or nearly so.
This species in the United States is one of the most variable in the whole group. The extremes of such variation might easily constitute types for several distinct species were it not that in all directions the varieties shade into each other so completely as to defy definition. We have before us specimens purple throughout and short-stemmed; purple with stem long, pale and twisted at apex; brown, with the same variations; short-stemmed, with the apex of the stem pallid, and long-stemmed, with and without the same peculiarity. Morgan (Cin. Soc. Nat. Hist. Jour., 1893) would set off the purple, long-stemmed forms asD. longipes, "stipe three to five times the sporangium," but here are forms in which the stem is ten times the diameter of the sporangium, which yet possess in all other particulars the characters of the short-stemmed forms. European forms also vary. Massee figures one type; Lister, one or two others; Rostafinski's figure indicates a taller form; Fries says, "Stipes elongatus, peridio quinquies et ultra longior." It seems reasonable to suppose that the variation is largely due to atmospheric conditions at the time of fruiting. The purple forms may be cases of arrested development, since the plasmodium appears to be in all cases purple, or at least they seem to represent those plasmodia which have failed of normal ripening. We may recognize two or three general types, distinguished primarily by color:—
a.D. cancellatum cancellatum.—Sporangia clear brown or with only a purplish tinge, the stipe tapering upward, and in extreme cases perfectly white at the twisted apex. The stipe in length ranges from three to ten times the diameter of the sporangium. Thereticulations of the net are generally small and the ribs numerous. This is the most highly differentiated, finished type of the species.
b.D. cancellatum purpureum.—Sporangium dark, the purple tints predominating, the stipe tapering upward, more or less twisted at the paler, sometimes almost colorless, apex. The stipe ranges a little shorter than in the preceding variety, three to seven times the sporangium. The reticulations of the net are often coarse, the ribs being fewer; the whole structure weak and showing signs of imperfect development.
The figures, 1, 1a, 1b, 1c, l. c., illustrate the ideal accomplishment in form (a). The color is a clear definite brown with no suggestion of purple anywhere. The stipes are three or four times the diameter of the sporangium, brown below, white above, and twisted to allow the sporangium to hang inverted. This is complete in every part; a definite bell-shaped calyx, widening into the cancellate receptacle, the margin constricted, and closed at last by the apical net,cribrum, sign of the order.
In form (b), the structure is similar but by no means so symmetrical and complete. The calyx often fails, or is present by obscure indications only. The cancellation is coarser, the number of ribs fewer, the whole sporangium more or less globose; ferruginous or purple, the prevailing tint. Figs. on Pl. 1. are from the ferruginous type.
Figure 3 represents a beautiful thing; cup-less, ellipsoidal, delicate, of average size and in every way well-proportioned, clear rosy brown in color.
This may stand for a third variety; (c)D. cancellatum prolatum.
Common everywhere. The fruit appears in June on decaying logs and stumps of various species of deciduous trees, conifers, etc., the finest, and greatest variety, are from southern Missouri.
Order IV
LYCOGALALES
Fructification æthalioid; peridium membranaceous, tough, simple, without vesiculose with protoplasmic masses, within gelatinous; thecapillitium of cortical origin, consisting of irregular lobate or branching tubules, varying much in width, and marked by numerous corrugations, irregular warts or bands; spores minute, ashen or pallid.
This order includes but a single genus,—
LycogalaMicheli.
Micheli's description and figures,Nov. Plant. Gen., pp. 216, 217, Tab. 95, leave no doubt but that this illustrious man had species ofLycogalabefore him when he described the genus. His figure 1. no doubt portrays the second species in our present list. More recent writers, from Persoon down, have used Micheli's designation, but differed in regard to the limits to which the name should be applied. It is here used substantially as in 1729. Fries and, after him, Rostafinski make a mistake in quoting Retzius as writingLycogala(1769). Retzius wroteLycoperdon sessile; Kongl. Vetenskaps Acad. Handling, för Ar.1769, p. 254.
Key to the Species of Lycogala