134 Rhodora [Joke 



general clearing and cultivation of the alluvial belt near the Aroo- 

 stook River, the Seneca Snakeroot was a common plant in the 

 valley. — M. L. Fk.rnald. 



Clathrus COLUMNATUS in Lawrence, Massachusetts. — In 

 November of last year Mr. F. H. Silsbee of Lawrence wrote me a 

 description of a strange phalloid which had appeared in a flower pot 

 that contained an oleander tree. He took it to be a columnar 

 Clathrus — a tropical fungus which would not be expected to appear 

 naturally in Massachusetts. The specimen which he described was 

 somewhat damaged, and evidently had not secured its full and normal 

 growth. Moreover, as sometimes happens with phalloids, the upper 

 portion of the volva remained rather firmly attached to the upper 

 part of the specimen, and somewhat obscured its features. Mr. 

 Silsbee wrote in substance that "there were apparently five arms, 

 porous, like Afutinus caninus. The lower part of the volva still 

 showed a whitish, firm jelly, and apparently had a thin membrane 

 originally extending in between the arms. The yellowish olive 

 colored slime of the gleba contained oval spores about 5 by 2 /x. 

 The odor like all of this class, was disgusting and sickening, but not 

 nearly so powerful as that of Dictyophora. I presume this must be a 

 Clathrus, but it was simply columnar without any trace of lattice work. 

 It had been growing above ground some five or six weeks, but split 

 open only a day or two before it was brought to me. There is 

 another small one already started, which I will send you if it is of 

 interest." 



Nearly three weeks elapsed before I received this second specimen. 

 It was not two inches long, had only three complete columns, and 

 was still less perfectly developed than the first. There could be 

 little hesitation, however, in referring the fungus to Clathrus colum- 

 natus Bosc, a tropical species, which is common also in Florida. 

 A full treatment of it may be found in Ur. E. A. Burt's second paper 

 on "The Phalloideae of the United States," 1 from which the follow- 

 ing is adapted. 



Receptaculum consisting of 2 to 5 massive vertical columns sepa- 

 rate below but joined together at the apex; columns cinnabar-red ; 

 gleba suspended from underneath the apex of the receptaculum. 

 Odor very fetid. Plant 2 to 5 in. high. Growing in sandy soil. 



1 Botanical Gazette, XXII, 5, Nov. 1896, p. 388. 



